Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2
by StarFoxRocks
Summary: Ch 18 Loaded! After escaping from Forget Valley, Danny eventually runs into Flower Bud Village, where the plague also manages to spread...
1. A New World

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter One: A New World

Danny rushed through foliage and trees alike. It must have been around four to five in the morning. His face had many cuts and scars upon it, his clothes smeared with blood, fresh and dry. He looked dead tired, as he had been running for days on end from a horror he could not speak of.

Turning his head, he looked behind himself to check if he was still being followed. When he turned back around, it was too late to avoid the cliff he was running towards. Shooting straight off it, he fell only a few feet before hitting land again.

The said cliff was not a large one. Getting up, Danny brushed himself off and looked around.

He appeared to have landed in some kind of farmland. He spied a large fenced field, where Cows and Sheep either slept or grazed quietly. To the side, there was a large farm house, a stable, and a chicken coop. Beside the coop was a small pond. Danny stumbled over to the pond, and dunked his head into it. It felt very refreshing.

A light went on above the farm's front door. It quietly opened, and a man stepped out. He wore a rather green cap backwards, with a single bang of his brown hair stuck out. He wore a basic farming outfit, and it seemed he had been up for a while. In his hands he held a shotgun.

"I know you're out there, shitbag! Get over here with your hands up!"

Danny raised his head slowly. He hadn't meant to be so loud. Slowly, he raised his hands and stood, walking slowly towards the man. He was obviously a farmer, like him.

Once he got a good look at Danny in the moonlight, the man dropped his gun.

"Holy shit… are you okay? I didn't mean to be –"

"It's okay," Danny panted, coming closer. "I need help. Something really bad's happened."

The man still hadn't gotten over Danny's appearance.

"Are you hurt? Come inside, I'll patch you up."

"No, just listen to me, I came from another town –"

"Jack?" came a female voice from inside the house, sounding tired. "What's going on? Who are you talking to?"

The farmer turned as his wife came out. She wore a blue dress, and had long, black hair. She blinked as if she couldn't see well.

"It's okay, Maria," Jack assured her. "Someone's just come along –"

But after seeing Danny for herself, Maria could see that everything was _not_ okay.

"Who the hell is that? Why is he covered in…!"

Jack grabbed ahold of her and stared into her eyes solemnly.

"Just get inside and stay with Josh," he said urgently.

Maria nodded, casting one last frightened look at Danny before going back inside. Jack stood as if in thought for a few seconds before picking up the shotgun from the ground and turning back to Danny.

"Look, we're all awake here, so let's just go inside, and you can tell me –"

"Please!" Danny pleaded. "Just _listen_ to me! I've been through something terrible! People are _dead_!"

After a few shuffled footsteps were heard, Maria poked her head back outside the door, now wearing black square glasses.

"Dead?" she repeated.

Jack looked around.

"Come now. You must get inside."

Before Danny could say any more, he was ushered inside by the farmer, while Maria closed the door behind them.

Danny was seated at a square wooden table, which had a cloth over it. Jack sat at the opposite end, watching him closely. Maria stood by, holding a small boy beside her.

"Is that your… kid?" asked Danny, looking at the scared child.

"Yes," Jack answered in a way that made him seem calm. "Now, listen, you've obviously been through a bad experience. If you explain it slowly, we'll get the Mayor and he can help you out."

"You don't understand," Danny said, still gasping for air after all that running. "Nobody can help me unless they've got a gun."

There was an uneasy silence.

"Jack," Maria spoke up nervously. "Do you think that maybe this guy is crazy?"

"What!" Danny said, raising his voice. The boy hugged his mother tightly.

"Mommy, I'm scared!" he squealed.

"It's okay, Josh," Maria cooed, glaring at Danny while picking up the boy. "Here, why don't you go into the kitchen and play with your ball? Mommy and Daddy have to talk with this man. Okay?"

Putting the boy down, she let him grab his toy and silently enter the next room before turning on Danny.

"Don't scare our child like that!" she snapped.

"Honey," Jack muttered. "Maybe we should let him speak first."

"We already tried that," Maria said.

"Then let's try again!"

They both looked at Danny, waiting for him to speak.

"It… it wasn't that long ago," Danny began. "In… Forget-me-not Valley… that's where I came from…"

"Forget Valley?" Jack interrupted. "That getaway resort?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah…"

"Sorry for interrupting," Jack apologized. "Uh, go on?"

Danny swallowed before continuing. "Anyway… there… something… happened… I'm not sure how… but… people began… dying… I can't remember if… no… I can't…"

Jack and Maria exchanged glances.

"…go on…" Jack said again, his features tensing.

Danny continued. "They turned into… some kind of… monster… they went cannibalistic… my helper died… I don't know what became of my dog… everyone… was killed."

"Jack, maybe we should get him to help –"

"They turned into something unimaginable," Danny ranted as if crazy. "They were human, but they seemed… dead… and… soon, after that, it got bad.

"Even stranger monsters spawned… out of the ground… Forget Valley must have been plagued by something… I only wish I knew what…"

"Jack," Maria said again. "He's crazy. I'm calling someone."

Jack stood as Maria headed for the door, and stopped her.

"We'll deal with this. Trust me."

The sun had started to come up. Danny must have lost his grip on the time, as he wasn't expecting it to happen for another hour.

"What time is it?" he asked.

Jack checked the bedside clock. "Almost six thirty. Do you need a rest? I know one thing, you'll need a shower, with all that blood on you."

Maria sighed. "I'll go and check on Josh."

She left into the kitchen, closing the door quietly.

Jack sat back down, again watching Danny at the other side of the table.

"So… how did you end up here?"

Danny sat back in his chair, feeling rather cold on that Spring morning.

"Well," he said. "After I fled the town, I ended up in the big city that was across the mountains from Forget Mountains. I forget… what are they called?"

"Arklay Mountains?" answered Jack unknowingly.

"Large range of mountains, if you ask me," Danny mumbled. "Anyway, the city… it was plagued, too. But the funny thing, nobody was there. No dead people. No bullet holes, or bullets whatsoever… no bodies… there sure was plenty of blood, though."

Jack nodded slowly, starting to feel paranoid.

"And while I'm looking around, I suddenly hear this inhuman scream," Danny said. "Out of nowhere, it rings out, and I lose all nerve and run. Before I know it, I'm in the woods, and I'm running like hell for at least two days. With some resting, of course. But whenever I would, I'd hear that scream again… oh, God… that unearthly scream…"

He rested his head on the table, covering his ears with his hands.

"I feel like that damn thing's been following me… that, _and_ the rest of those dead bastards… I fled from them, after all, and those… beasts that were with them."

There was a sudden knock on the door. They both jumped, Danny nearly soiling himself. Quickly, Jack got up and answered the door carefully. Recognizing the visitor, he relaxed.

"Kai," he greeted. "How are you? Do you need… anything? Say, you're here a bit early, aren't you?"

"A little," Kai admitted, knowing that he came around only during the Summer. "Spring's almost over, so I thought I'd drop in earlier and check in on everybody. Nothing wrong with that, eh?"

"I wouldn't say so," Jack responded. "So, what's been going on for you?"

"Well," Kai rummaged through a backpack he had been carrying. "I found some good fruits up in the mountains while on my way here. I tried them while resting, they're pretty good. They look like shit, but inside they're golden. Want one?"

Jack observed the strange colored fruit. It almost looked like a apple, except it was an orange-ish green.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry right now," he answered after a while. "Maybe later. See you around?"

"Certainly," Kai said cheerfully. "Perhaps later we can catch up."

After he walked away, Jack closed the door.

"Well, listen," he said. "Nothing's gonna happen here. You're safe in Flower Bud Village. We can make sure of that. Now, come with me, we're gonna wash all that crap off you and clean that clothing of yours. Then you can relax. It's all over."

Little did he know that it wasn't…


	2. Rumors and News

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Two: Rumors and News

As the sun began to shine on Flowerbud village, the townsfolk began to get up and about, doing their daily chores.

Kent and Stu, the two brothers, were playing alongside the intersection that lead to different parts of the town. Harris, the mailman, was passing by. They exchanged greetings.

"Hey, Harry."

"Hello, Kent. Stu, how are you?"

"Why is the sky blue?"

"Uh… because it is! See you kids later."

As he headed up the path towards Moon Mountain, he noticed an odd sight.

On the path that lead up towards the Vineyard that was on the hill, Kai was staggering as if drunk.

"Kai?" called out Harris. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Kai grunted. "I've just got some pains, that's all. I feel kinda weird, though."

"Maybe you need to lie down," suggested Harris, concerned.

As Kai stumbled out of sight, Cliff came along, with Cain (his falcon) perched on his outstretched arm.

"Hey, Harris," he greeted slowly.

"Good day, Cliff," said Harris, still musing about Kai. "Notice anything strange about Kai?"

"Not really," muttered Cliff.

"He seems kinda pale," Harris continued. "Maybe I should pay him a visit later."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Cliff mumbled. "Kai knows how to take care of himself."

Harris stroked Cain's feathers, then headed off to Moon Mountain.

-

Meanwhile, in the flower shop, Lillia couldn't help eavesdropping on a rather strange conversation. Her husband, Basil, was assorting the seed bags on the counter when Gray came in.

"Howdy, Gray," greeted Basil.

"Hey," Gray said absently. "Uh, do you have any kind of flower seeds? Ann's getting kinda picky about flowers, and she wants our field to be 'more beautiful.' Girls."

"Well, I guess that's Ann," Basil shrugged. As he looked through the seeds, Gray muttered, "Man, have you heard the news?"

Basil straightened up and faced him. "Excuse me?"

"Some kind of virus has been spreading," Gray explained. "I don't know the whole story, but I heard that some people ended up getting killed because of it."

"Well, viruses tend to do that… where did this happen?"

"Forget-me-not Valley," Gray replied.

"Pity," Basil sighed. "That's a nice place to go; I've been there before."

"Not anymore, apparently," Gray said. "My flower seeds?"

Basil cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. Hang on, let me look in the back."

Lillia turned away toward the window, and saw her daughter, Popuri, watering the flowers. She smiled. She always was proud of her child.

"Here you go," Basil said, placing a bag in Grey's hand. "That was our last bag, though. We don't normally carry flower seeds and sell them. That'll be 300 G."

"Eh," Gray coughed, then fumbled in his pockets for money. "Hang on, I've got something in here…"

-

Popuri came around the corner of her mother's shop with a freshly refilled water can when she saw Jack arrive in town.

"Hi, Jack!" she greeted cheerfully, then noticed his expression and frowned. "Say, you look down. Something going on?"

"Well," Jack scratched the back of his head. "It's kinda hard to explain. Early this morning a man appeared in my field…"

"A robber?" gasped Popuri.

"He wasn't a robber," denied Jack. "He was… ehm, covered in… look, I'll tell you later. I've got to talk to the Mayor."

He sped off, a concerned Popuri watching him go. Just then, Gray left the shop, and as he walked for the intersection he bumped into Harris, who was returning from Moon Mountain.

"Oh! Pardon me, Gray," Harris excused himself.

"No problem," Gray muttered, and, since he was bored enough, he asked, "Did you hear about that virus?"

"Virus?" blinked Harris. "What virus?"

"Obviously you didn't," mumbled Gray. "Some virus came about in Forget Valley. People died. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

He left, leaving a bemused Harris behind him. Popuri turned away, resuming her work in watering the flowers.

-

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," invited the Mayor, who was sitting at his table enjoying himself to a snack.

Jack came in politely. "Mister Mayor, sir, if I may have a word?"

"Of course," the Mayor said cheerfully. "Come! Have a biscuit!"

"Maybe later," Jack said. "Uh, I've got a bit of disturbing news."

The Mayor frowned. "Of what kind?"

"Well, you see, this morning a man appeared in my field and he was rambling on about death and dead, cannibalistic people."

It took a moment for the Mayor to speak.

"I see," was what he said. "Did this man seem crazy, by any chance?"

"In a way," replied Jack. "But that was from at least two days of wandering through the forest. He went on about some kind of inhuman scream, too. It seemed to follow him."

The Mayor gulped down the rest of his snack and stood up.

"It's obvious the man is crazy," he confirmed. "Delusional."

"I think he might be right," disagreed Jack. "What if those monsters followed him? We have to warn the town!"

"Don't be foolish," the Mayor snapped. "We'd be getting the town riled up over nothing. Besides, we don't know if any of that is true or not! Have we gotten any reports about it?"

"Well… no…" Jack responded. "But that doesn't mean –"

"It means nothing," the Mayor argued. "End of discussion, Jack. Have a nice day."

Sighing, Jack got up and left the house, the Mayor eyeing him strangely as he went.

-

Danny had been resting on the floor beside Jack and Maria's bed. As their son Josh came in, the almost-deranged farmer got up. Maria followed the young child in, closing the door behind her and giving Danny one of her looks.

"Where's your husband?" Danny asked as she sat down.

Maria turned. "Excuse me?"

"Your husband," repeated Danny, standing up. "Where is he?"

"He went to talk with the mayor," Maria responded moodily. "While you're up, could you please take a bath? You're filthy."

Danny looked down at his blood-caked shirt. Maria had a point.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I may as well wash my clothes, too."

Maria had opened a book and busied herself in reading it. She didn't respond. Danny quietly entered the kitchen and headed for the bathroom.

-

Kent and Stu were still playing as Jack re-entered the intersection.

"Hey, guys," he greeted warily.

"Heya, Jack!" Kent called out. "Hey, how old's your kid?"

"He's nearing five," responded Jack, stopping. "Why?"

"We need another play buddy," Stu complained. "It gets kinda boring with just us and May."

"Well, I'll let you know when he gets older," Jack ensured, then turned and headed for his farm. He could make out Cliff at the end of the intersection beside Moon Mountain's entrance. He was kneeling over something.

Jack shrugged to himself. It probably wasn't important.

Walking past Kobi, his dog, he opened the front door and announced his arrival. He found Maria at the table reading, and Josh playing quietly with some blocks. Noticing Danny's spot now empty, he asked where he had gone too.

"He's taking a bath and washing his clothes," Maria answered. "I had too; he was a mess. And did you smell him? Yuck."

"It'll be fine," said Jack, kissing her hair. She looked up to smile at him, and then returned to her book. As Jack sat down by the bed and turned on the TV, she asked, "So how was the mayor?"

"He didn't buy it," replied Jack dully, flipping through channels. "Something's telling me, though, that that guy's right."

"Oh, please," Maria rolled her eyes. "Uh, did you take care of the cows?"

"Shoot," said Jack, standing. "I'll be back."

As he set to leave, Maria stood up and picked Josh up. "I have to get lunch ready."

"Lunch? It's only nine…"

Maria shrugged. "Breakfast, then. I didn't get a lot to eat."

She left into the kitchen with Josh, and Jack left outside towards the barn. The TV had been left on, and it was showing an animation. But, suddenly it changed.

The screen displayed a white background with the words **Emergency Broadcasting System** displayed. A voice began to speak.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin. We will return to your regular broadcasting immediately following this report…"


	3. The Plague Returns

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Three: The Plague Returns

That night on Flowerbud Ranch (the name of Jack's ranch), everything was quiet. Perhaps too quiet.

Of course, this quiet didn't last for very long. Around midnight, a figure appeared in the fields. Jack, who had been staying up late writing in his diary, looked out the window and saw it approaching the house. He silently got up from the table and opened the cabinet, taking out the shotgun. He paused for a moment, then opened the door and faced the figure as it trudged through the grass. Aiming the shotgun, he spoke loudly and clearly.

"Stop moving, or I'll shoot!"

The figure kept moving, as if it didn't hear him.

"I'm not screwing with you!" Jack continued. "I'll blow your god damn ass off if I have to!"

Still the figure kept coming. Finally, Jack fired the shotgun with a loud bang, breaking the night silence. The figure fell into the field, disappearing in the grass. Jack cocked the shotgun, aiming it into the grass and waiting for the figure to get back up.

It didn't.

"Jack!" came Maria's frightened voice. "What the fuck is going on?"

As she emerged in the doorway, Jack turned to comfort her. "It's okay. Somebody was trying to intrude our property."

"Was it a robber?" Maria asked.

"I don't know," responded Jack. "I'm going to check him. Is Josh awake?"

"Yeah," Maria said, swallowing.

"Stay with him. Make sure our visitor is awake, too. I'll be right back."

He stepped back outside and headed for the field, striving to get a good look.

-

Maria, Josh and Danny were all sitting in the kitchen at the table, Josh in Maria's lap, when Jack returned. He put the shotgun back into the cabinet, and then entered the kitchen.

"Was it anyone we knew?" Maria questioned frantically.

"No," Jack said. "I didn't really get a good look, though. I threw the body over the cliff into the ocean.. It's too late in the night for this; I'll worry about it in the morning."

"Are you sure?" Maria continued. "I mean, you _must've_ gotten at least –"

"It's okay, honey," Jack assured. "We'll deal with it tomorrow."

Josh rubbed his eyes.

"Daddy, I'm tired."

Jack smiled slightly. "I think we all need some sleep. Danny, if it's okay with you, I'll get a cot in here for you."

"Sure," Danny yawned. "I've been up all night cleaning my clothes, so… anything with sheets and a mattress'll do for me."

"Splendid… let me get one."

As Maria prepared Josh for bed, Jack took a folded cot from the storage bin in the corner and unfolded it in the kitchen. He put it in the far end of the room, against the wall and almost beside the door.

"Let me know if I can do anything else for you," said Jack sleepily.

"That's pretty much all for tonight, thanks," Danny muttered, getting under the covers of the cot. "Good night."

"Yeah… g'night."

Jack turned off the light. Somehow, Danny slept, though with thoughts coursing through his head.

Was that figure really what he thought it was?

-

The next morning beside the beach, Greg the fisherman was sitting at the edge of the dock when a boat drove up to it. Getting off of it was Karen, who had returned from her trip to the big city across the ocean from them. As she got off the boat, the driver waved goodbye to her and drove off.

"Why, hello, Karen," Greg greeted. "How was your trip?"

"Excellent," Karen responded, smirking. "I had a wonderful time… It's been a bit of a while, hasn't it?"

"Oh, not really," Greg shrugged. "It was only two weeks, Karen. Though some weird things happened while you're gone…"

Karen's eyebrows rose. "Like what?"

"Oh, nothing. Pay no attention to me. Just go on home; I'm sure your parents are dying to meet you."

Karen sniffed the sea air deeply. "Yeah, that's right. I should get going."

She walked off down the dock toward the hill to Green Ranch. Neither of them had noticed the body floating dismally beside the rocky cliffs, laying facedown in the water floating back and forth towards the shore but never actually touching it.

-

As the sun shone upon Flowerbud Ranch, Doug came strolling towards the door, waiting nervously at first and then walking over to it and knocking on it.

Jack answered after a few seconds, looking rather tired.

"Oh, hey, Doug," he said slowly. "What do you need?"

"I heard a gunshot last night, but I was a bit afraid to come over," Doug explained, looking around. "Uh, is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Jack replied. "Some guy was coming towards my house in the middle of the night. I yelled at him to stop moving, but… he kept coming. So, I shot him."

There was a nervous silence.

"Well… that does explain it," Doug said. "Just making sure, okay?"

"No problem," Jack answered, closing the door. Doug stood there for a minute, then rubbed his forehead and left.

Inside, Jack sat back down at the table and ate a plate of eggs quietly.

"What do you think that was all about?" asked Maria, from the bed.

"Dunno," was all Jack said.

Josh was still asleep in his cradle. Maria yawned, looking towards the TV.

"Think anything's on?"

Jack attempted to speak through a mouthful of eggs, but failed. Shrugging, Maria turned the TV on. The first channel they saw had no signal. Switching the channel, she found herself looking at another signal-less channel.

The next two channels had the same result.

"Strange," Maria said. "None of the channels have any signals."

"Not even the new ones?" asked Jack, turning.

Maria flipped through the remaining channels. "Nope."

"Weird," Jack muttered. "I guess I'll check the connection, then."

"No, I'll do it," Maria said, getting up and looking behind the TV. "Everything's plugged in… no, everything's fine. Must be a problem down at the studios or something."

"Maybe something's happened in Flowerbud," Jack suggested, standing up and pushing his emptied plate aside. "I'll go into town and see what's up."

"Alright," Maria sighed, walking over to the kitchen door and knocking on it. "Danny? Are you awake?"

"I am now," came a voice.

"Oh, sorry," Maria said lowly. "You can go back to sleep, I already made breakfast. If you're hungry, just look through the fridge."

"I'll keep that in mind," Danny responded.

Maria sat back down on the bed, and soon found herself falling back to sleep.

-

As Jack crossed the intersection, he noticed the kids weren't out playing. Then it dawned on him that they were probably in the church for school. Shrugging it off his mind, he continued into town.

Popuri was out watering the plants again, and Elli was out in the yard beside the Bakery shop.

"Hey, Jack," greeted Popuri as he arrived.

"Hi," Jack said dully. "Say, does your TV work?"

Popuri looked thoughtful. "I don't know, I don't think we turned it on yet today. We usually watch it at night…"

"Go turn it on, I want to see something."

Popuri looked confused, but nevertheless she did it, coming back out a few minutes later.

"A few of the channels are out," she reported. "There were only three working ones, two were news and the other was some entertainment show."

"I see," Jack said, rubbing his chin. "All of my channels were out. Maybe some work now?"

Popuri only shrugged. Jack left, and she continued her work. As he passed the church, he saw Rick and Saibara beside the tavern.

"So, I saw Kai the other day, right?" Rick was saying. "He had these weird ass looking fruits. He said they tasted really good, though, so I took one just to be polite. I actually ate it a while later, and it actually did taste good… so… I guess that's a lesson."

"I heard about the fruits myself," Saibara contributed. "Do you know if Kai has any more? I should try these fruits for myself."

"I'm not sure," Rick answered. "He said he got them from those Arklay Mountains not far from here, but I wouldn't walk that far just for some fruit. I mean, even if it _does_ taste good."

"Whatever," Saibara shrugged, then walked off and returned to his shop. Rick saw Jack and waved at him before leaving himself. Deciding he wouldn't find anything else out, Jack turned around and headed for home.

-

Karen strolled up the hill toward the Vineyard. Despite their problems, she was a little anxious to see her parents again.

Before she got to the door, she decided to surprise Kai first. Usually he was in the Wine cellar, which was a different building.

She didn't notice the cracks in the window as she turned around and headed for the wine cellar. Going inside, she headed down the stairs and looked around.

No Kai. Shrugging, she went back outside and headed for the door. Clearing her throat, she raised her fist and knocked on the door.

It opened on her third knock. She shrugged, then pushed it open and walked inside.

Then she froze in her tracks.

The house was a mess. Tables were upturned, vases smashed, furniture ripped and torn. A flower vase lay broken on the floor in a puddle of water.

"Wha – ?" Karen cried out, frantically searching the room. Stepping into the room, she observed the mess.

And then she saw the blood.

She saw it in a puddle at the far end of the room.

Her eyes locked onto it in fear.

"What the hell is going on here?" she asked aloud.

And then there was a creak from upstairs.

From her room.

She looked upwards.

"Hello…?" she said softly. "Mom? Dad?"

He walked over to the stairs, then looked upwards.

Silence.

The door to her room was closed.

Swearing to herself in silence, she took one step up the stairs when she heard it again.

A low creak broke the silence.

She stopped, staring intently at the door to her room.

Who was in her room? And what was he, or her, doing in there in the first place? Was it the same person who made the mess downstairs?

And… more importantly… whose blood was in a puddle downstairs?

She shuddered.

And then she took another step.

And that was when the door opened. She paused again, not moving her eyes from the door.

A figure stepped out of her room. Stopped.

And then turned to her.

She let out a gasp.

It was Kai. But there was something different about him. The flesh was rotting from his bones. His skin was pale. His eyes were ghastly, the soul taken from them. There were bloodstains on his clothing, and on his face.

And he was growling.

Karen stepped backwards.

"What… the… hell!" she panted.

She turned around, but found herself staring into the eyes of her father.

"Dad – !"

But her father wasn't any different than Kai. He let out an unearthly scream, making Karen stumble backwards.

"Dad, what the fuck is going on here!"

Her father – or, what _used_ to be her father – did not reply. Instead, he stumbled forward and grabbed Karen.

"No!" she yelled. "Let go!"

Kai had begun to walk down the stairs. Also emerging from her room was her mother, who was in the same state as Kai and her father, all of them rotting, all of them mindless, all of them dead-ish.

All of them dead.

Karen let out a scream as her father bit into her neck. She pushed him back, and he tore out a bit of flesh. Her wound bled freely as she clasped a hand against it.

"Dad! No!" she yelled. She stepped backwards again, and bumped into Kai, who attempted to bite her as well.

Realizing these weren't the people she once knew, Karen raised a fist and punched Kai right in the nose. Kai fell backwards into her mother, and she fell back as well, banging her head on the open door. Turning back to her father, she jumped upon him, knocking them both to the floor. She was atop his strong, burly form, and when he tried to bite her again she got up, frantically searching for a weapon.

Her neck wound was beginning to ache, so she clamped her hand harder against it. The hand had gone completely red, and so had her skin around it.

Her father had gotten back up by the time she found a weapon. It was a table leg. She wielded it with one hand before the zombie as he approached.

"Dad… don't…" she croaked. It was of no use.

She swung the table leg and smashed it with a terrible crack against his head. He fell back down with a grunt. She had begun to cry, partly due to the pain in her neck and to emotion.

"I'm sorry," she said to his limp form.

Kai had reached the bottom of the stairs. As he too approached her, her dad got back up, with a nosebleed he didn't seem to notice or care about.

Karen raised the table leg again, but a sharp pain in her neck caused her to drop it and clamp her second hand against the wound. It was practically spurting blood. Covering it didn't matter.

She fell back against the wall, blinded in pain. As Kai and her father approached, she sobbed.

"No…"

The two zombies both prepared for a feast.

Karen let out a scream before her end…


	4. The Answer

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Four: The Answer

"Elli? Get back in here."

Elli turned from the open door to Jeff, the baker of Flowerbud. He was impatiently standing behind his counter.

"Didn't you hear about the virus? I don't want you catching it. I know you watched TV yesterday morning…"

Elli sighed. "Jeff, come on, it's only news. Besides, when did it mention the virus coming around here?"

"I don't know, but it said to be cautious. It's kinda hard to keep up with viruses these days. Now come back inside, please!"

Elli let out a groan, but did as was told and shut the door behind her.

"Thank you," Jeff grumbled. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got some cake to bake…"

Elli sat at the dining table, glowering. Noticing her expression as he started the oven, Jeff noted, "You can always go back into your room, if you like."

"I'm fine, thank you," muttered Elli. "Just… bake."

Shrugging, Jeff returned to his work.

-

"Isn't Karen supposed to be coming home today?"

As the Mayor searched through bookcases for something that piqued his interest at the library, his wife, who sat at the counter, spoke to him.

"I would imagine so," responded the plump official. "I also imagine she would be around to greet everyone."

"She _has_ been known to keep to herself," his wife pointed out.

"Yes, well," the Mayor said, pulling a book out gently, "I suppose we'll find out sooner or later. Is this book good?"

She checked the cover. "I haven't read it."

"I thought you said you read everything here…"

"We got a new shipment last week; I'm still on the first one."

"I see," the Mayor replied. "Well, I'll take this one, then. See you at home."

He left, leaving his wife in peace.

-

Meanwhile, inside Doug's shop, the rancher sat engaging himself with a book, his legs on the counter, when Gray entered. He looked up, he removed his legs from the countertop and sat up straight.

"I forgot to ask you," he said. "Did you get those flowers Ann asked for yesterday?"

"Yeah," Gray answered, observing the items up for sale.

"You know she's picky about those sort of things," Doug continued.

Gray cast him an irate look.

"Yeah. I know."

Doug raised his eyebrows, as if not expecting Gray's attitude. "Something wrong, Gray?"

"Not really," Gray replied, heading for the door. "By the way, you might want to change those pregnancy potions. Some of them are expired."

Doug looked over at the potions as Gray left.

"Hmmph. I could have sworn I just changed them."

-

Ann, the daughter of the redheaded family, was about ready to leave the Green Ranch when Greg the fisherman came up the hill frantically.

"Where's the Mayor?" he panted.

"In his house, I'd expect," asked Ann, appalled. "Why? Did something happen?"

Greg took a gulp of air before answering.

"I found a body," he said. "Down in the water."

-

A small crowd had gathered beside the beach as Basil and Harris attempted to get the body out of the water with fishing lines. The Mayor was talking with Greg, while Doug, Gray, Ann, Lillia, and Popuri stood idly by watching.

"Where did he come from?" asked Lillia, nervous. "Do you think it was that virus?"

As the body was hauled onto shore, everyone attempted to get a good look. It was an elderly man, known by nobody in Flowerbud. There was a large, gaping hole in his head, and he had the appearance of a rotting zombie.

"Who the hell is this?" said Harris, after a moment of silence.

"Nobody we know," answered Basil.

"What's up with his skin?" asked Ann, recoiling in disgust.

The Mayor knelt down beside it. "He's been rotting," he observed. "It must mean he's been dead for a while. But look at this hole… it's fresh."

Upon further inspection, he saw a shotgun shell embedded into the hole.

"Oh, damn!" he swore, standing up. "Somebody shot him!"

Doug appeared deep in thought.

"Excuse me," he said flatly.

As he headed up the hill, Ann called after him.

"Dad? You okay?"

"Leave him be," Gray muttered. "He's probably queasy."

Ann looked uncertain.

-

Danny was sitting alone in the kitchen, having woken up only a few minutes ago. He was enjoying himself to a grapefruit he had found in the refrigerator when he heard a panting beside him. Looking down, he was shocked to find a dog sitting there.

"Huh…" he said. "I didn't know these chumps owned a dog."

He read the tag on the dog's collar.

"Kobi," he read. "Weird name for a dog…"

Kobi yipped at him lightly, then licked his hand. Danny smiled. It reminded him of his own dog.

The door opened.

"Are you awake?"

Maria stepped in without her glasses on, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah," Danny responded. "Just accepting a visit from your pet."

"His name's Kobi," said Maria, unknowledgeable that Danny already knew and heading for the stove. "You hungry? I haven't eaten yet. How does bacon sound?"

"Good," Danny said, getting up from his seat. "Do you mind if I take a look around?"

"Sure," answered Maria, placing a pan upon the stove. Her bitterness towards him was starting to fade.

As Danny went into the main room and headed for the door, however, there came a knock upon it. Blinking, he opened it to find Doug standing outside.

"Oh, my," he said upon sight of Danny. "Pardon me. Is Jack here?"

"He went into town," said Danny. "Why?"

"I need to talk to him," said Doug, looking around. "A body was found by the beach today. I'm thinking it has something to do with last night."

Danny was about to reply, when Jack came in through the entrance.

"Speak of the devil," Danny said.

Doug turned.

"Jack!" he called. "That man you killed last night! He was found in the beach!"

Jack paused. "Oh, crap."

Danny was deep in thought again. Were the zombies from Forget Valley really following him? Was the plague starting its spread in Flowerbud village?

The only way to find out was to look at the body.

"Is it still there?" he asked suddenly.

"Um, yes," Doug answered. "I think they're about ready to – where are you going?"

Danny said no more, and quickly left in the direction of the Green Ranch.

-

During all this, a strange event was occurring in the bakery.

Elli was almost at the point of taking an accidental nap when somebody began knocking the door.

"Elli, get that," Jeff said busily from behind the counter. "I've got my hands full."

"Mmmph," Elli moaned, laying her head on the table. She was bored out of her mind.

"Elli!" Jeff yelled. "Elli! ELLI!"

Her brain began processing again, and Elli jumped up out of her seat. As she headed for the door, however, something became wrong.

The knocking soon turned to pounding. And it grew louder and harder by the second.

"What's with this guy?" Elli asked.

"He's impatient," snapped Jeff. "Are you going to answer it?"

When Elli's hand reached for the doorknob, the pounding stopped.

There was an awkward silence after this.

"Oh, great," Jeff muttered dully, breaking the silence. "He left. Nice work there, Elli."

"Weren't you bothered by the way he assaulted our door?" Elli asked, growing impatient with her employer.

"A little," Jeff admitted. "I guess I'm kinda glad the prick's gone. We'd be dealing with one big son of a bitch if we let him in."

-

By the time Danny raced down to the beach sands, the crowd had decreased to just Lillia, Basil, Harris and the Mayor. Lillia was off to the side, and the rest were on the dock, where the body had been moved. Harris was just stepping off when Danny arrived.

"Excuse me," he called out, breathless. "Do you mind if I take a look at the body?"

Harris made a face, as if not understanding him. "What?"

"Can I look at the body," Danny repeated.

"I don't recall you being around before," Harris said. "Are you new?"

"I believe he's the person who showed up on Jack's farm," the Mayor cut in. "Yes, sir, you may see the body. Over here, now."

Danny stepped onto the dock, and spotted a body bag at the end of it.

"Basil, if you'd do the honors," the Mayor said, gesturing with his head at the bag. Basil shrugged, then walked over to the bag and put his hand on the zipper.

"You ready?" he asked Danny.

Danny nodded. It wasn't like he hadn't seen a body before.

Basil unzipped it slowly, then opened it up for Danny to see.

And he recognized it. He knew who the person was. And his questions were answered. Despite many days of rotting, he recognized the face.

It was Galen.

The virus was spreading to Flowerbud village. It wasn't safe here anymore.

"Sir," Danny spoke up after a few moments, to the Mayor as he approached. "What if I told you your town was in very grave danger?"

Before the Mayor could respond, Doug and Ann appeared at the foot of the entrance.

"You all better come inside," Doug said urgently. "There's something you guys need to see."


	5. The Terror Resumes

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Five: The Terror Resumes

Danny, Doug, Ann, Gray, Basil, Harris, Lillia, and the Mayor were all cramped in Doug's shop in front of a television set that had been placed up on the item counter.

"This came in just a few minutes ago," Doug said, urgently changing channels. "It's footage from that city next to Forget Valley when this plague struck it."

He skipped past the right channel, realized his mistake, then turned back. Then he stepped back.

A grim-faced, hair-gelled reporter was sitting at a desk. A large, blank monitor was behind him. He seemed lost for words for a moment.

"We've been asked to replay the footage for anyone who might be joining us. Then we will play it a third time. We now have an idea of this new plague that appears to be spreading. We will roll the tape again, and then a third time… these following scenes may disturb you."

He sat back in his chair, looking nervous as hell. Voices were heard in the background, and then the screen went black. Words then appeared on the screen.

-

**The following footage was recorded in Raccoon City, during the outburst of a plague. It contains strong violence, language, disturbing images and gore. Viewer discretion is advised.**

After a short few seconds, the words disappeared, and then the recording started. The feedback made it look like a camcorder recording. The screen was rather blue-ish, and had the **.Rec **symbol in red at the top right corner of the screen. It was the view of a building.

"Here we have the Jamison Avenue apartment… hey, Jayme, like the looks of this one?"

The camera was then aimed at a dark-haired, handsome man, who raised his eyebrows.

"I dunno, I like it," he opinionated in a mobster tone. "Better than what I've seen to far. Kim, what say you?"

Kim, who was a short-haired redhead, stroked an invisible beard at the bottom of her chin jokingly, but seemed thoughtful. Both her and Jayme had to be in their thirties.

"Looks fine to me," Kim muttered.

"Eh, let's look at some more before…"

"Jason, you're a jackass," Jayme said with a laugh. "C'mon, let's just take this one… huh?"

As Jason, the man who apparently was holding the camera taking footage, looked back up at the apartment building (which looked more like a condo), audible mutterings could be heard from his two friends.

"What the hell is that?"

"What's going on down there, Jayme?"

"The fuck should I know? Hey, Jason, get a look at this. Zoom in."

Jason turned around and aimed the camera down the street, where some strange activity was going on between two figures in the middle of a road. Zooming in, they were revealed to be two men. They appeared to be fighting, one of them on top of the other, who was yelling, but the words being said couldn't be heard.

"Is that a mugging?" came Jayme's voice.

"Should we help him?" Kim asked.

"Stay back, guys," Jason mumbled from behind the camcorder.

A third man approached them, yelling louder than the second. The first grabbed ahold of his victim's arm, opened his mouth wide, and bit into it. The second man screamed in agony as blood began flowing down his arm into his t-shirt sleeve.

"Holy fuck!" Jayme exclaimed.

The third man stepped back in shock, and the first man, whose flesh now appeared to be rotted, pinned the second to the ground and continued feasting on his arm. Honking was heard, and then a taxi rammed the third man while screeching to a stop.

Several people, men and women, came into view, all of them running. One, a bald man, tackled a woman. Upon a closer zoom it was noticed that his flesh was ruined as well. The woman screamed as the man tore at her flesh.

Another man stopped at the one who had gotten hit by the taxi, which now appeared abandoned, its door wide open. It tugged at his arm, then began nibbling at his ear.

"Oh my God…" Jason was saying.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Kim yelled.

Jason turned around, and discovered that behind them, more chaos was enveloping. Three of the zombies had cornered a man and were literally tearing him apart beside his car. One of the zombies ripped out his intestines and began dangling it in his mouth as the man screamed until his end.

And then came the scream.

Not another human scream, but a loud, terrible, inhuman scream that made even the zombies tremble.

The same scream that Danny had heard several times.

"What was that?" Kim said frantically.

Jayme was in a panic. "Who the fuck cares! Let's get the fuck out of here!"

Jason turned around again, but then they found the source of the noise.

It was a large, blue abomination. It had teeth the size of railroad spikes and as sharp as razors, and a large beating heart attached to it's blue skin. It was very tall, and had the shape of a regular man.

Kim and Jayme were seen backing up. Jason appeared to be backing up as well.

"What… the… fuck… is… tha –"

Before Jason could finish, the monster raised one of its arms, revealing it to be a large, clawed hand. It skewered him, impaling Jason with its claws. The camera pointed downward suddenly, revealing the claw puncturing his torso, blood oozing from the sides of the wound.

Then the camera was pointed upwards. It was now facing Kim and Jayme.

"Run!" Kim screamed, but before she could take more than one step the monster took it's other arm, which looked like a crab claw, and clamped it around her waist. She was sliced in half.

Jayme fell back against a wall. The monster then threw Jason's now limp form through a window, and the camera fell to the ground, still facing Jayme. A large, blue foot stomped by and then the monster was gone. Jayme was sitting against the wall, his eyes closed, his breathing deep. He buried his face in his hands, his fingers running through his smooth, black hair. Then he opened his eyes after a few seconds, looked around, and quickly grabbed the camera. Everything became a blur as he stuffed it under his arm and began running. Scenes of the zombie chaos could be seen behind him.

"How the fuck do you turn this damn thing off?"

And then it was over.

-

When it ended, the screen went back again for a few more seconds. Then the news anchor appeared again, back at the station.

"The survivor in question, Jayme Gomez, wasn't available for interview. He was rushed to the hospital after an attack from one of the plague bearers. Um, I apologize for those of you who were sickened by the footage. It's the only way to show people just how bad this plague is. We will replay this tape one more time, but momentarily. More news will be released later. So far, all we know it is spreading in the Arklay Mountains area…"

Doug quietly stepped up to the television and turned it off.

Nobody spoke for quite a while, until Ann had the courage to speak up.

"So… what do we do?"

Doug cleared his throat.

"We stay inside… we lock our doors and windows… hope this thing blows over, and… pray."

"If anyone needs to get back to their homes, they should do so now," suggested Basil. "Lillia and I need to get back to our daughter."

"By all means," Doug agreed. "Mister Mayor, go to the library and get your wife, then lock her and yourself into your house."

The Mayor nodded. "Right."

Harris stood up. "I should go and warn all the folks. Just to be on the safe side; not everyone watches TV that much around here."

Doug nodded. "Be careful, Harry."

Harris adjusted his cap, preparing to leave. Doug then turned to Gray.

"Gray, put the animals away and lock up the barn. Then we'll all stay here."

As Gray complied, Ann turned to Danny.

"You're welcome to stay here, if you'd like."

Danny shrugged. "I don't really have anywhere else to go… but Jack and Maria might get worried."

"I could drop a line about you when I get to their ranch," Harris mentioned, opening the door.

"Would you?"

"Sure."

Harris left without a second word.

"I need to get a few things from our supply shed," Doug said, heading for the door also. "I'll be right back."

Ann nodded. "Right."

Danny had taken a seat on the item counter, which was now bare save for the television. As Doug closed the door, Ann sat down next to him. Neither of them said anything for a moment.

"Have…" Ann started, but seemed hesitant. "You've been through something like this before, right? That's what… what I heard."

Danny nodded slowly.

"What do you think will happen to us?"

Danny said nothing for a moment.

"If that plague really does get here… then… we'll die."

Ann turned away. They both became bemused with thoughts of everybody's, as well as their own, fates.

-

Harris was walking down the intersection crossroads when he saw the figure of somebody walking down from the path that lead to the Vineyard. Recognizing the purple cloth on his head, he called out to him.

"Kai!" he said. "Kai, get back inside! There's been some sort of plague… spreading…"

He began to notice the way Kai walked. And then there was the fact that his clothes were dirty, and also stained.

They were stained red.

"…oh, shit…" Harris said.

Kai turned from the pathway up the hill, facing Harris, who stood frozen in his tracks.

"Holy fuck!" he stuttered.

Kai's face was smeared over with blood that looked fresh. Both his hands were also bloody. His eyes were glazed over with death, and his skin was rotting off.

Kai approached the fence and bumped into it. Looking down at the wooden fence, Kai snarled. Harris stumbled backwards, falling onto his back, but quickly got up and ran the way he had come, towards the second entrance to town.

-

Popuri was still tending to the flowers when her parents returned.

"Hey Mom, Dad," she greeted with a smile, but it quickly vanished when she saw their faces. "What's wrong?"

"Get inside, now," Basil ordered. "We're locking up."

Popuri was shocked. "We're closing shop? But what if customers come by?"

"I doubt that," came Basil's voice from inside.

Lillia put her arms around her daughter. "Finish up here quickly, then come inside. That plague we've been hearing about… it's terrible."

She went back inside. Popuri stood there, confused. Turning back to the flowers, she was about to resume her work when she saw Harris out in the intersection. Harris was stepping backwards, and he stumbled and fell. Popuri watched as he got up and fled in the other direction.

Frowning, she stepped forward to check it out, but heard Basil call out to her.

"Popuri! Come on inside!"

Uncertain, Popuri slowly turned back and entered the flower shop. Basil then closed and locked the door.


	6. They are Coming

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Six: They are Coming

Before these events Jack had been tending to the farm animals. Closing the door to his house, he saw Maria and Josh at the table eating lunch.

"Where's Danny?" he asked.

"He went out," Maria responded, watching Josh pick at his food with a fork.

"I know _that_," Jack muttered. "Has he come back yet?"

"No, not at all," said Maria, looking up. "I'm guessing he's still down at the beach, where that body is."

"Don't even start," Jack mumbled, sitting upon the bed. "I really hope we don't get a case out of this."

"Don't even worry about it," Maria said reassuringly, standing up and sitting down on the bed next to him. "With all this disease nonsense, it'll be forgotten in no time."

Jack looked up at her. "You really think so?"

Maria smiled.

"I'm smart, remember?"

They kissed.

"Eeew, gross, cooties!" Josh yelled out obnoxiously.

When they parted, Jack got up and went over to Josh, teasing him.

"Ooooo, now I'm infected with them, and now I'll infect you!"

Maria couldn't resist a laugh watching them struggle. Turning, she went to check the reception on the television by turning it on.

She was surprised at what she saw.

The same slick-haired, grim faced reporter was facing the screen.

"We're ready to replay the tape for the third time…"

-

"Hey, check out this rock."

"No way! Mine's cooler!"

"My rock is totally better than your rock."

"No it isn't! My rock rocks!"

Kent and Stu were arguing by the midwife's house over rocks when their father, the wise old Chinese owner of the Potion Shop came out.

"Stop that bickering!" he scolded. "You two have better things to do than argue over such things as rocks."

"I guess you're right," Stu shrugged, his childish face twisted in a frown. Then he turned to their dog, and called out to her. "Taro! C'mere, girl!"

The dark-furred canine rushed into Stu's arms, panting and wagging it's tail.

"She's so cute!" Stu gushed.

"Much better," the Chinese man said. "Now, if you'll both excuse me, I've a shop to run."

"Whatever," Kent grumbled. "Hey, Stu, let's go back to the intersection."

Stu shrugged again, letting go of Taro and allowing her to run back to their front yard. "Whatever. I'll race you."

They both rushed out into the intersection, both of them tripping over each other.

"I win!" Kent yelled.

"No way! You cheated! It was a tie!" Stu accused.

"Nu-uh! It was fair and square!"

"Fair my butt… who's that?"

They both watched Kai as he stumbled down the twisting path that lead to the Vineyard onto the intersection. Stu laughed, thinking it was a joke.

"Hehehe! Kai, you're funny!"

Kai turned upon hearing his voice.

"Whoa!" Kent said, stepping back. "That's freaked out, man."

Stu, however, was far too curious. He took a few steps closer to Kai as he began to zombie walk towards them.

"Kai, is that ketchup all over your nose?" he said, pretending to be a parent. "Naughty Kai! No desert for you! Uh… Kai? What's up with your skin?"

He looked up on the top of the path to the Vineyard, where two more figures had appeared.

They were Karen's parents.

"Hey guys!" he yelled cheerfully, turning away from Kai as he approached and waving one arm frantically. "I was just talking to Kai here…"

"Get away from him, man!" Kent screamed at him.

"Shut up! I never get to have any fun!" Stu returned, turning away from Kent after yelling at him. When he turned back around, he saw Kai right next to him.

He was looking down at him, with a rather hungry look on his dry-skinned, blood-washed face.

"Ummmm… Kai?" Stu asked politely, staring to finally get nervous. "Kai, what's wro –"

Before he finished the sentence, Kai was upon him. Snarling, he simply fell upon Stu's small form before actually moving. Stu screamed as Kai's body crushed his.

"STU!" Kent yelled. "You bastard! Get off him!"

Kai wouldn't listen. Kent could only stand there and watch in despair as his best friend was literally torn apart by what used to be a citizen. Kai ripped at Stu's torso with his teeth, creating slashes and cuts alike, then began digging with his claw-like hands. During this, Karen's parents were mindlessly bumbling down the winding pathway.

Stu's stomach was suddenly split open, and Kai began digging inside of him, pulling out his intestines. After chewing on them, he put them aside as a pile of guts formed at Stu's side. And during all this Stu screamed. He screamed in agony until his unfortunate end, when Kai began to feast upon his head.

Kent was in shock. He couldn't move. He had just seen his friend ripped apart by a cannibalistic dead human. But when Kai turned and gazed upon Kent, and when Karen's parents reached the bottom of the path, when Karen herself appeared at the top of said path, and when he saw the mangled carcass of his friend, he couldn't take any more of it and turned to run away, as fast as he could, back to his father's home to tell him all that had happened.

Too bad he never got that chance.

As soon as he turned around, he bumped into Rick, who was making some unusual growling noises…

-

Popuri was standing beside the window and staring outside of it. She seemed rather worried. Nothing unusual was occurring nearby them that she could see, so she was deep in thought.

"I swear, if this plague reaches Flowerbud, we're doomed," Basil muttered. "I'll have to cancel my usual trip."

"There are far more worse things at hand here," growled Lillia. "Let's just stay inside, and wait for this so-called plague to… Popuri! Where are you going?"

They both watched as their own daughter suddenly unlocked the door and rushed outside.

"Come back!" Lillia yelled, rushing to go after her. Basil quickly followed.

Popuri was at the intersection when she stopped in her tracks.

In the middle of the crossroads, what looked like Kai and Karen's mom and dad were engorging on the remains of little Stu. The body of Kent was nearby, with Rick biting his limp arm. Karen was stumbling down the path from the Vineyard, giving out an all-too familiar undead moan.  
They all stopped at looked at her when she arrived.

Popuri went into the same shock Kent had shortly before dying. As she stood there, dumbfounded, as the zombies stared at her, Basil and Lillia arrived next to her.

"Popuri! What is your problem? We must…"

But then they noticed the scene around them as well, and stopped.

Nobody moved for a second.

And then Karen let out another moan.

Popuri did another sudden rush, dashing across the intersection as the zombie's eyes blindly followed inaccurately. As she disappeared into the yards of Flowerbud Ranch, they slowly started moving after her.

Lillia was about to follow, when Basil grabbed her and pulled her back. She struggled vainly, until he put an arm around her neck and said into her ear, "Do you want to go into that? Huh? Look at all of them! Our daughter is as good as dead!"

When he let go of her, they both walked back into town. Lillia paused, then slapped Basil clean in the face before returning inside. Basil stood there, taking in what had just happened. When he realized his wife hadn't shut the door on him, he quickly returned inside as well.

-

Jack and Maria were very quiet after what they had seen. Josh was put in the kitchen to avoid seeing the video tape. Neither of them spoke until Jack got up.

"I'll go get Josh out of the kitchen."

Maria only nodded, still staring at the television as if it were still on.

As the door to the kitchen was open, Josh came out, excited but disappointed at the same time.

"Why couldn't I see the movie?" he asked.

"Let's just say it was… bad."

Josh was confused. "Then why did _you_ watch it?"

Jack sighed.

"I don't know, either."

Then there was rapid knocking on the door. Before Jack could do anything, Maria got up and carefully put her ear next to it.

"Um… uh, who is it?"

"It's Popuri!" came a frantic voice. "Let me in, quickly! A bunch of them are coming!"

**Author's Notes**

I've decided to answer some questions left in my reviews.

variabler – Galen's pretty much dead (for good). He was a zombie when Jack shot him, and after that the shot to the head did him in.

Horseface – 1) Nah, I don't think Danny would have time to marry anyone for now. 2) Some, but not all, of the residents have weapons. Like Jack and his shotgun, for instance.

Thanks for the reviews guys, and keep the feedback flowing!


	7. Surrounded

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Seven: Surrounded

Jack flung the door open and Popuri charged in. Daring a look outside, Jack saw five zombies slowly stumbling into his front yard. Slamming the door shut, and locking it, he turned to the worn out Popuri and said, "What the hell happened?"

Popuri cast an uncertain glance at Maria, who was still standing by the door and staring at her in shock, before answering.

"Well, me and my parents were locked up in our shop, but I realized we… um… we didn't have anything to… er, well… protect ourselves with. Then I thought about you, and that big shotgun you have –" She looked over at the weapon, which was hung up on the wall "– and then I thought maybe I should come over here, because you know how to deal with bad situations, you're the calm one…"

Maria looked suspicious, thinking there was a rather different reason Popuri risked her life to come over here.

"Uhm," Jack stuttered. "Well, to be honest, I haven't really dealt with flesh eating, cannibalistic corpses before."

Popuri giggled.

"Well, I suppose that's true. I guess I wasn't really thinking straight; I never do when there's a crisis –"

"Ahem," Maria interrupted, clearing her throat. "Did we forget about the zombies?"

"Oh, right," Jack said, grabbing a stool and placing it under the place where the shotgun was mounted. "I'm not sure if I have many shells left, though."

Maria blinked.

"Not enough shells? The other day you had plenty!"

"I never said that," Jack muttered. "And ammo runs dry real quick. There's no shop here that sells them, as far as I know…"

"Just unhitch the damn thing so we can use what we've got!" Maria snapped.

Josh, who was hiding under the table since Popuri came in, began to cry.

"I'm scared!"

Maria, forgetting her irate manner, quickly grabbed Josh and cuddled him in her arms.

"It's okay, Josh, everything's fine…"

Jack cocked his shotgun after loading two shells into it.

"Let's dance," he said rather nervously, heading for the door. Popuri stayed back, an admiring gleam in her eye and a sly smile on her face. Maria kept glancing over at her.

Jack was about to open the door, when he decided to first look out one of the windows. He cautiously approached it, trying to get a good look, when Rick suddenly slammed against it, smearing blood from his face onto the glass.

Everyone jumped back, and Josh screamed at the sight of the dead Rick. Maria covered her eyes, and quickly went into the kitchen. Kobi, their dog, began to bark defensively.

Popuri looked towards the other window and screamed, "There's another one!"

Jack turned and faced the other window. Kai was pounding the glass with no real effort.

"Kai?" he said, with growing disbelief.

He turned back towards Rick. He had seen him looking very healthy just a few hours ago today. And now he was dead. At least, dead-ish, since he was a walking cadaver in his front yard.

There were at least three more of those people, as dead as Rick and Kai were, starting to surround their house. Jack was about to open the door _again_, until he noticed something.

There was a small family of zombies walking by, a man, woman and child. Unknown to him, they were past residents of Forget valley. Wally, Chris, and Hugh.

Waiting until they bumbled out of sight, completely unaware of what was happening beside them, Jack stepped back and kicked the door open.

The first one to step inside was Karen's Mother. Jack didn't recognize her at first, but didn't put a lot of thought into it. He fired his shot gun and hit the zombie in the head.

As she fell back, Kai stepped from the cracked window and pushed her body aside. Jack hesitated, but shot him, too. He let out a roar as his face caved in, and he too was killed for good.

Next was Karen herself. Jack was shocked to see she was dead, and tension was added to it when he realized he was out of ammo. Digging his pockets for shells, he only found one.

"They're coming in!" Popuri squealed.

"Get in the kitchen!" yelled Jack, backing off. "_Now_!"

Popuri didn't waste time arguing.

Jack raised the shotgun and blasted not Karen, but the zombie behind Karen that had entered, which was her father. The top of his head burst, and his defiled blood spilled. After that Jack quickly ran for the kitchen door, went through it, then slammed it, locking it as well. The door began to rattle as it was pounded on by the zombies.

He looked around. Maria, Josh, Popuri and Kobi were all safe and accounted for.

"We don't have a lot of time," he said, as the pounding began to slow remarkably. "Since they seem to be slowing down, I'm going to be taking a small rinse in our hot springs pool. I haven't done it in a few days…"

Maria looked at him; apparently she thought taking a practical bath was hardly appropriate for the situation. Catching her glance, he quickly added, "It'll only take a few minutes."

"I suppose we'll just wait in here?" Maria asked, looking over at Popuri, who was still eyeing Jack. Hearing her voice, she jumped, then said, "Oh, yes… of course."

Jack looked out the only window in the kitchen, spotting Harris walking into the yard.

-

"Okay… I'll just warn Jack, and tell him where Danny is… oh, shit."

Upon sighting the front door open, and the several bodies inside (not to mention the blood), Harris stopped in his tracks.

"Jack?" he called cautiously.

There was a response, but not from Jack. Rick bumbled out of the entrance, and upon seeing him began to pursue him.

"Not you too, Rick," Harris said, stepping back. Rick responded with a loud undead moan.

Harris quickly turned to run, but instead bumped into the decomposed form of Wally. Before he could even scream, Wally bit into his neck. Harris pulled away, yelling.

"OW, FUCK! YOU BIT ME!"

He stepped back, and tripped over a bone, which evidentially belonged to Kobi. Squirming on the ground, he struggled to get up, but then Rick arrived. Squatting, the dead merchant grabbed ahold of Harris's arm and began tearing at it with his teeth. Wally's former wife Chris joined in, followed by their kid Hugh.

As the real feast began, inside the kitchen Jack turned away.

"They're preoccupied," he muttered. "I'd best hurry."

He slipped into the bathroom and quietly shut the door.

-

Meanwhile, on the Green Ranch, things were quieter than ever. Doug and Gray had returned, and they all sat nervously. At one moment Gray turned on the television again, and they all began watching it. Doug was the first to speak after a while, during which live news footage was being shown.

"This is worse then when Ann got her bellybutton pierced," he muttered.

Ann took offense.

"Hey, I did that because I wanted too, okay?"

"But why did you want too?" Doug asked with raised eyebrows.

Ann turned back to the TV. "Well… I have my reasons."

"Privacy is too much for you girls," Gray mumbled.

Danny, meanwhile, sat next to Ann and took it all in. He was unaware of what had happened at Jack's farm. Apparently this was how exciting it would be until the zombies found them. There was no doubt that would happen soon; the remaining zombies from Forget-me-not valley were on their way.

And what of those strange, scaly gorilla-like creatures, the Hunters? What had become of them? Were they joining in the flow and following his tracks?

Danny leaned back against the wall, no longer watching the broadcast.

It looked like time would only tell for this one.

-

Meanwhile, in the quiet, deserted streets of Flowerbud village, Greg the fisherman cautiously approached the church doors. He knocked on the doors three times, then waited for an answer.

The Parson, or Carter as he was sometimes called, opened the door and carefully peeked out. Seeing it was Greg, he smiled at allowed entry. Greg went inside to find two more people already inside, Cliff with his falcon Cain and a wounded Saibara. They were both in the back row, but Cliff was on the left bench and Saibara on the right.

As Carter bolted the doors shut, he took a seat next to the old man. Saibara had been bitten on the arm, which was a common target for zombies.

"You holding out okay?" Greg asked.

Saibara glared up at him. "What do you care?"

"I'm just saying, that looks like it hurts."

Saibara shifted the bandage to cover the revealed blood.

"It stings," he replied. "A lot. I don't know if it'll ever stop."

Deciding Saibara liked it better when he was undisturbed, Greg got up and changed his seat next to Cliff.

"Are you holding out okay?"

Cliff merely looked at him, then shrugged.

Parson Carter quietly went through the small aisle to the pedestal that faced all of the benches, then sat down on the piano bench in silence. Greg was surprised at how quiet they all were. Perhaps they had heard of the virus that had spread and seeked shelter, with the expectance of Saibara, who had been bitten.

Greg chose to find his own seat, away from the other two. As he moved into the middle row (left bench, in front of Cliff), he pondered about what might have happened to the fellow inhabitants of the church.

Would they all make it out alive?


	8. A One Sided Affair

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Eight: A One-Sided Affair

The door to the Potion shop opened. Slowly, the old and wise owner poked his head out.

"Kent?" he called out. "Stu?"

Not even Taro responded.

The old man muttered to himself. "I told them to play around here. Why do they keep wandering off like this?"

As he stepped out, he noticed something odd about the graveyard.

A grave had been dug out, leaving nothing but a hole and mounds of fresh dirt around it.

"That's odd," muttered the owner to himself. "Didn't Jack bury one of his animals there?"

-

Elli was waked from her nap by the opening of the Bakery door. Sitting up, she saw little May, the girl who lived with the Midwife, entering.

"Oh, hello," said Jeff, cheerful now that they've finally gotten a customer. "In the mood for some cake today?"

"Well…" May looked at the displays, uncertain but defiantly hungry.

"Did the Midwife send you down here?" asked Elli.

May nodded. "Yeah, I think she wanted some cake."

Jeff grabbed a scoop and carefully took two pieces of cake out, placing them into a bag and handing it to May. "Here. Have one for yourself."

"Thanks," May said with a smile, then hurried out the door in direction of the Midwife's house.

"That was pretty nice," commented Elli.

"Well, she's a kid," Jeff shrugged. "And God knows people need something to cheer them up with the fear of that virus."

-

When Doug left the shop briefly to do a check to see if everything was okay around them, he noticed something was certainly wrong.

The mangled carcass of Stu lay in the intersection. And the bodybag that was left forgotten on the docks was starting to move.

When he re-entered the shop, he explained to everyone what he saw.

"Stu's dead?" Ann said, in shock. She looked at the floor sadly. "I liked him, I thought he was cute…"

"There's no telling who else is dead, with all that blood out there," Doug muttered. "The best choice we have is to just do what we've been doing. Stay in here and watch TV."

"There's nothing to watch anymore," Gray grumbled. "Everything just says the same damn thing over and over again."

"Then turn it off, if it bothers you!" snapped Doug.

At this, Gray only shrugged. Doug sat behind his desk, sighing and rubbing his eyes. Ann, meanwhile, turned back to Danny.

"This is just too boring. I need some fresh air."

She got off the item counter, stretched, then inquired, "Dad, can I got outside for a while?"

"I don't care anymore," Doug mumbled, not opening his eyes. "Just please don't leave the ranch."

Danny, deciding he didn't like being cooped up in the shop too much either, followed Ann out. Seeing him, Ann asked, "Bored too, huh?"

Danny shrugged. "I guess I needed the same things as you."

"Mind if I show you around, then?"

Shrugging again, Danny said, "Anything to kill the boredom, eh?"

Ann gestured to the field. "Alright, c'mon, I'll show you the barn."

They walked into the field, where some horses and sheep wandered lazily. The flowers Ann had requested were freshly planted alongside the fence.

"Nice flowers," Danny commented.

"Thanks," Ann smiled. "Yeah, I had Gray go buy them for me because he had more money. Heh, like he ever uses it anyway."

She stroked the mane of a particularly dark horse before motioning to the barn.

"We keep the cows in there most of the time. For some reason they didn't want to come outside today. Come on, I'll show you."

As she opened the large doors, Danny stepped inside and had a look around.

It was certainly different from his old barn. It seemed like a large dining hall; the stalls were broken into rows, with two on one side and two on the other. In some of the stalls were cows, eating an afternoon snack of fodder.

"These guys are lazy," Ann continued. "All they do is sit around and eat. I think the only reason we keep them is for the daily milk."

Turning back to Danny, she said, "Well, that's actually pretty much it, except for our sleeping quarters by the shop. Nobody but us are allowed in there, though."

Shrugging a third time, Danny said "That was good enough. I guess we should go back now, huh?"

They headed back toward the clearing together.

-

The owner to the potion shop was just passing by the Midwife's house when May arrived, carrying a bag.

"Hello, Kent and Stu's dad!" she greeted.

"Technically," started the old man. "I'm not their _real_ father, just an adopted one, really. And speaking of Kent and Stu, have you seen them around lately?"

May thought.

"Nope!" she said, smiling as though to spite him. "Haven't seen them all day."

"Hmmph," the old man grunted. "Well, thanks anyway." He eyed the bag and saw the Bakery sign on it. "Enjoy your cake."

As the door to the midwife's house closed, the potion shop owner sighed and decided to go back inside. But he froze in his tracks when he turned around.

Standing there, beside the Potion Shop itself, was the rotting, decayed carcass of a sheep.

The old man sputtered.

"What the – !"

The sheep let out an unearthly growl.

"That's not possible!" he spat. Then his eyes darted towards the dug out grave.

"There's no way – "

The sheep charged. The old man was knocked clean off his feet; he dangled helplessly in the air and his glasses were knocked askew. He let out a cry of pain as he hit the ground, straining to see without his glasses.

A sharp pain seared through his leg; he turned and saw the outline of the sheep beside it.

"Get off!" he yelled, making feeble attempts to punch at it. It only resulted with the sheep grabbing ahold of his hand with its teeth. The potion shop owner let out a scream as he tried to tug it out of its mouth.

Suddenly his hand was free; he fell back to the ground. But, there was still pain, and then the old man realized that the sheep had torn off two of his fingers. Struggling to get up, he stepped on something that cracked. In a panic he tried to reach down to feel what he had smashed, and he cut his hand. It was then confirmed that he had stepped on his own glasses.

The sheep hadn't given up so easily, and it charged again. The potion shop owner didn't struggle, as there wasn't a point to doing it anymore, he realized.

He fell to the ground. The pain slowly left him. It would all be over soon.

-

"Mommy, I'm hungry!"

"Now?"

"Yes, mommy!"

Maria sighed.

"Alright, I'll make you a little bacon."

"I want a lot!"

"You're getting a little. Two strips should be enough."

In the kitchen of Jack's house, things had gone rather quiet. The zombies were still outside, having a silent fight (except for the occasional groan) over who got to eat Harris.

Popuri was sitting at the table, looking mused. She dusted off her vest-like overshirt, which of course was over her fancy white one, while starting at the wall.

"You need anything?" asked Maria without looking at her.

Popuri sat up.

"Huh?"

"Are you hungry?"

She looked over at the pot Maria was setting on the stove.

"Oh," she said. "No, thanks."

It was quiet after a while, the only noise being the sizzling of the bacon. But then, suddenly…

"Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom."

Maria looked despaired.

"What!"

"I gotta pee bad!"

Maria gave a desperate look over at Popuri.

"Would you take him to the bathroom? I can't risk burning this. It's bad enough, cooking, while those… _things_…" she gestured toward the window. "are out there."

Popuri shrugged. "Sure thing."

But then, she got an idea.

-

Jack sat in the large, steaming hot tub that served as a virtual hot springs. Around the square pool of water was a bench, connected to the floor. He was wearing plain white trunks, and a folded towel was placed on the top of his head. His eyes were closed.

He heard the door open, and his eyes snapped open. Familiar voices sounded, though, so he calmed.

"Is this one the bathroom?"

"No, that goes to the tub – bathroom here!"

He heard another door open, then close.

"I'll… just wait, then."

He couldn't hear Josh's response. After a quiet few seconds, the door to the spa slowly opened.

"Uh, Jack?"

Popuri came in, nervously closing the door.

"Oh, hey," Jack said casually. He noticed the expression on her face. "Something wrong?"

"No…" Popuri said quietly. "Erm… well… yes."

Jack blinked.

"Um, I didn't exactly tell you the… truth… when I came over here," she began, sitting at the edge of the spa, staring into the bubbling water to avoid looking at him.

"Oh?" Jack said, wondering if Maria knew about this.

"Well…" Popuri blushed furiously. "The truth is that… um… that… I kinda… well… like you… a lot."

Jack, despite the awkwardness of the moment, put it into better words for her.

"You mean love?"

She looked up at him.

"Er, yeah… love."

They both became quiet. Jack sat there, eyes closed again, taking it all in one step at a time. Hadn't it been obvious? Or was he just oblivious?

Popuri seemed to have something else on her mind. Now that she confessed, it didn't seem that hard to look at him anymore.

When Jack opened his eyes again, he was quiet shocked at what he saw.

Popuri was unbuttoning her vest-like overshirt.

"Um… Popuri?" he asked uncertainly.

Popuri slid the overshirt off, then put a finger to her lips.

"Ssssssh."

Jack's heart was racing. He wanted to jump out and leave, but he couldn't for some reason. He sat there, transfixed, as Popuri began unbuttoning her formal dress shirt, revealing more of her skin as each button slid through.

She untucked the bottoms of the shirt from her red dress; the shirt was brushed off and Jack flushed a deep red.

He tried to move again, but he couldn't. He was still transfixed. All he could do was sit there, staring at Popuri's exposed chest, which was partially covered by a strapless bra that was colored hot pink.

_Focus,_ Jack yelled at himself mentally. _Focus! You have a wife…_

But he still sat there, being able to only shift his eyes from Popuri to the door, as if a pissed off Maria would show up at any moment.

As Popuri unzipped the back of her dress and began sliding it down, revealing her slender legs and hot pink panties to match her bra, Jack crammed his eyes shut.

_You have a wife,_he told himself again in his mind. _You will not cheat on her… she loves you, and you love her back._

"Jack…"

Unwillingly he opened his eyes.

Popuri was now sitting on the bench beside Jack, her legs flowing gently in the water, which was still bubbling frantically.

Finally, Jack had the courage to speak.

"Popuri, I can't do this, I…"

Popuri pressed a finger against Jack's own lips this time.

"Sssssssh," she repeated.

Slipping into the water, she stood before him. She grabbed Jack by the shoulders and stood him up. Then, raising her arms, she moved them behind her back and began fiddling with the hooks that kept her bra on. She leaned slightly forward to do so, and her chest was inches from Jack's face. During all this, her eyes never left his.

There was a soft click, and Popuri's arms reappeared, both of them holding either strap that was the back of the pink bra. It shifted, and began to come off as she raised her arms higher…

"**_WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"_**

Popuri screamed, quickly clasping her hands over her breasts in order to keep the loose bra on.

Maria stood infuriated in the doorway to the spa, with Josh behind her at her heels. One look at her told Jack she was _really_ mad.

But, before she could speak even a word, the door was suddenly smashed down.

**Review Responses**

Horseface – You'd be surprised how many ways there are of surviving without guns. ;)

angelyoshi – Yeah, I saw Land of the Dead. I enjoyed it, it was rather good. Haven't seen a Romero flick for quite a while.

Sir Exal – Well, I chose Maria for this story to be the wife because she was in my actual game. I guess I just preferred her over the others. I had another file where I married Ann, however.


	9. The Zombie Hunters

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Nine: The Zombie Hunters

All of them jumped as the door was smashed off it's hinges; everyone seemed to forget the current situation at hand. Nobody moved for a moment, listening to the continuous barks of Kobi, until a voice broke over the dog's noise. It wasn't a voice any of them recognized, however.

"You mates, I know you're in there, come on! It's not safe here anymore!"

A man in a strange uniform appeared in the kitchen. He had dark red, slicked hair, and looked like he was trying to grow a beard. His outfit, however, was something else.

It looked like a large Boy Scout uniform. It was colored tan, but instead of badges laced on it there were bullets similar to machine gun ammo strapped to him. Grenades were attached to the pockets on the side of his shorts. Some of the pockets on his shirt looked like they were bulging with ammo for other weapons, and he was wearing a backpack, no doubt filled with weapons, or more ammunition. A Captain's insignia could be seen on his uniform collar, and in his hands he was carrying a Tactical 12 Gauge.

"Get a move on!" he yelled. "My partner's holding them off!"

They suddenly became aware of gunshots outside. Jack came to his senses and quickly dashed out of the spa to get dressed.

Maria had gone from the doorway, and by the looks of it so had Josh.

"Some of us have to get dressed!" yelled Jack. He heard Maria talking with the man hastily.

"What the hell were you in the spa for?" came the man's irritated voice, but nevertheless Jack heard him go back outside to help his partner.

Once he was back in his regular outfit, Jack checked to see if Popuri had done the same, but she hadn't moved from her spot. She was still holding her loose bra over her chest.

"What the hell's going on?" she asked.

Maria had reappeared.

"Get dressed!" she snapped at Popuri, then turned on Jack. "If we live through this, you're going to have a lot to explain for."

And then she slammed the door in Jack's face, despite the fact that they were supposed to be leaving.

-

When they all came outside, they noticed quite a chance in the scenery.

Rick lay nearby, obviously dead, beside the field. Near him was another body, this one of a woman Jack didn't recognize. Near the entrance was Harris, dead as well. They could see Karen stumbling in the intersection, away from them.

"Why's she fleeing?" asked Popuri, looking after her nervously.

"Who cares?" asked a second man.

He was obviously the partner to the first, as he wore a uniform and backpack identical to him, except there was a 2nd Lieutenant's insignia on his collar. He had long, red hair, flaming and flowing, and he wore a blue bandana around his forehead.

"Allow me to introduce ourselves," said the first man, stepped before them. "I am Captain Benjamin Ridley. This is Second Lieutenant Tito Gomez."

"My brother Jayme was the guy who got that footage," said the long-haired soldier, shaking hands with them.

"I saw that," Jack said. "How is he?"

"He's dead," said Tito shortly. "Nobody survives a zombie bite."

There was an awkward silence between them.

"Excuse me," came Maria's voice. "But… 'zombies?'"

"Nothing else to call them," Tito said flatly.

"We've got another man not far from here," Ben interrupted loudly. "We should keep moving."

Jack gave another look at the woman's corpse, trying to see if it was a Flower Bud resident.

"Jumped over the cliff as we were taking the blighters out," said Ben, noticing him and indicating towards the small cliff that overlooked Jack's field. "We came from over there, too. Almost like she was following us. Come along, now."

They walked away from the carnage that had been Jack's property, the Flower Bud Ranch, with Kobi trotting in their wake.

-

There was no sign of Karen as they entered the intersection, and Jack was surprised as they headed in the direction of Moon Mountain.

"Shouldn't the Police be dealing with things like this?" Maria asked as they walked.

Ben gave a hollow laugh.

"Bunch of bloody fuckaroos, that lot," he muttered. "Can't tell one thing from the other. Besides, this is supposed to be a closed community, right?"

"Not entirely," Maria said uncertainly. "Visitors come from time to time…"

As they walked beside the river of Moon Mountain, Jack noticed the whole are seemed unnervingly abandoned. The Carpenter's area, across the river, seemed to have been deserted. Ben halted suddenly, approaching the small pond nearby Greg's tent. Tito followed. The rest stayed behind, curious.

They both remained still for a moment. But, to their surprise, a quiet voice suddenly sounded.

"Flash," it said.

"Thunder," Ben responded.

He turned around, grinning.

"Ladies, gentlemen," he said. "Meet Sergeant Joe Avery."

They turned. A man had appeared out of the pond; he had apparently been there for a while. He wasn't wearing anything similar to Ben or Tito, but a camouflaged green soldier's uniform. There was a helmet over his smooth brown hair, which was matted to his head because of the water.

He swam silently across the pond for a moment, then stepped out onto the ground, soaking wet.

"How long have you been there?" asked Tito.

"At least an hour," Joe responded. "Wasn't that bad, though. These mountains seem like a safe spot."

"Good enough," said Ben. He turned back to Jack, Maria, Josh and Popuri. "You lads will have to stay here. It's not worth risking a walk out there anymore. Joe here will watch over you."

"What about you guys?" asked Jack.

They walked down towards the mountain entrance.

"We're off to find more survivors," Ben called.

They disappeared into the intersection.

"Not to worry," said Joe. "Those two know what they're doing. Top-notch, they are."

Jack had picked up Kobi. The dog let out a yawn, then curled up in his arms. In no time he was fast asleep.

The others had settled in around the pond. Josh was picking flowers beside the calm waters, while Maria watched him, and Popuri sat gazing into the surface.

"Where exactly will we be staying should night come along?" he asked the Sergeant.

Joe shrugged, then looked over at Greg's tent. "In that tent, I guess. I don't suppose it would fit us all, then…"

"How 'bout the Carpenters' cabin?"

Joe looked at him. "What?"

Jack pointed at the small house across the river.

Joe smiled. "Yeah… yeah, that could work. But for now, we'll stay over here."

Jack sat beside the tent, still holding Kobi. Afternoon was starting to settle in; he could see the sky was only starting to turn orange. Joe kept glancing down at the entrance, checking for either Ben and Tito or the zombies, or both. Surprisingly, Jack found that he was rather tired.

Slowly he dozed off into a sleep, just as fast as Kobi had.

* * *

**Review Responses**

_WildGamer _– Well, to be honest, I can't really answer many of those questions without giving out spoilers. But I will say that the big blue figure was _not_ Nemisis.


	10. The Green Ranch

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Ten: The Green Ranch

"Oh, son of a bitch…"

The television had suddenly gone out in Doug's shot. Gray was trying to get it to work again when Danny looked outside the window and froze.

"Everybody shut up."

At first not everybody heard him, so he made himself a little clearer.

"_Guys! _Shut it…"

His harsh whisper caught everyone's attention. When they looked at Danny, he gestured with his head towards the window.

There were three zombies, a man, woman and child, and they were wandering around outside, dangerously close to the building. Neither Doug nor Gray knew who they were, nor did Ann for that matter, but Danny perfectly recognized them despite their rotted appearances.

It was Wally, his wife Chris, and their son Hugh; the three of them had been Forget-me-not Valley residents before the virus struck the peaceful countryside.

"They're not people from around here…" observed Doug quietly as he peeked out of the window.

"Turn that damn thing off!" hissed Ann, silently as she could, at Gray. She was referring to the T.V., which had been displaying static. But as Gray reached for the power button, Danny said, "No, they'll notice the change in the noise!"

Gray paused, then slowly turned to face Danny.

"Trust me on this one," Danny muttered.

Gray then looked over to Ann, who gave a mere shrug, and then slumped off over to the corner, where he sat in a chair.

"What are we supposed to do about these guys?" asked Doug, who had gotten away from the window to talk with Danny beside the counter.

"Do you have any weapons to use against them?" Danny inquired.

Doug shook his head.

"Then we do nothing," Danny said simply. "Just hope they go away, something like that."

"And if they don't?" asked Gray moodily from his corner.

There was a silence.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see for that one, won't we?"

-

The Mayor had been watching through his window, and unwillingly had he witnessed the Potion Shop owner get torn open by a dead sheep. Now the sheep was out of sight, and the mangled body of the old man lay alone out in the open nearby the Midwife's house. He wondered if the Midwife herself was still alive.

"Will you stop peeking out that window? It's making me anxious…"

Sighing, the Mayor slipped his head back through the curtains covering the window and turned to face his wife, who had been sitting at the table drinking tea like there was no tomorrow.

"Dear, do you really have to drink so much tea?" the Mayor asked inquiringly. "We only have so much…"

"It's better than gulping down that alcohol rubbish," his wife said indignantly. "It does things to your system, and I'd be better off without those changes."

"I can understand that," said the Mayor patiently. "But give the drinking a rest, dear."

"I'll do what I please, thanks," mumbled his wife irritably after another swig that emptied her cup. "Just because you're the Mayor doesn't mean you get to boss your wife around."

"I didn't mean –" the Mayor began, but his wife interrupted him.

"Just forget it," she said. "Go… go look out the window again, or something."

The Mayor sighed and slowly pulled the curtains aside again, his thoughts wandering.

Jack had been right. That strange man, who told him all those things, had been right. It all started with a bunch of rumors, rumors that turned out to be true…

What brought this travesty upon his fair town? What did anybody here do to deserve this?

Unanswered questions rattled the Mayor's brain as he stared dismally out from his window.

-

Elli and Jeff, having no T.V., didn't realize what had been going on outside the past few hours. Elli watched as Jeff headed for the door.

"Where are you doing?" she asked.

Jeff turned around to face her.

"Out," he said flatly.

Elli raised her eyebrows.

"Whatever happened to staying inside because of the 'virus?'" she said innocently.

Jeff scowled.

"I need a small break," he muttered. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"

Elli shrugged. "Whatever… just don't take long, like you always say…"

Jeff walked out, almost slamming the door as he left.

He looked around.

Flowerbud village had changed that day. Nobody was around. The afternoon sky cast an orange ray down upon the town; nightfall would surely arrive in the next few hours. There was also an unnerving smell that caught Jeff's nostrils; it almost smelled like some sort of gas…

Jeff walked out beside the church. He noticed that curtains were covering each window except for the higher ones. The Flower shop had an almost abandoned look to it; it's lights were out and nobody was moving inside, as far as he could see.

Jeff gave a shudder. It seemed unusually cold. Then he cast another look up at the sky, and noticed for the first time that clouds were beginning to form. Was there going to be rain tonight?

He lowered his head and gazed forward, and then something caught his eye.

He paused.

Two men had just walked past out on the intersection, dressed in the strangest clothes he had ever seen. But he only got a good look at them for about two seconds – the entrance to the crossroads was very narrow.

"What the hell?" he said aloud.

-

Ben and Tito were heading towards the Green Ranch property, casting looks over at the Flowerbud Ranch to make sure there weren't any zombies left there.

As they approached the entrance, Ben (who was in front) put an arm out to stop Tito. They both crouched.

"You see something?" Tito asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Ben nodded. "Three of the blighters."

"So, what's the plan?"

Ben looked around.

"Right, you go over the fence and head to the left, go around that building and wait for my signal to open fire – use your submachine gun. I'll go to the right and hide out in the fields, they surely won't notice me easily there. Right, ready? Go!"

As they separated, Jeff came out into the intersection and saw them quietly leaping over the fence in different directions. Tito positioned himself beside the wall of Doug's shop, and for a heart-wrenching second Jeff thought the Lieutenant spotted him – but he apparently didn't, as he quickly disappeared around the corner.

And then Jeff spotted them – the walking, groaning corpses of Wally, Chris and Hugh.

It was true? A virus that makes the dead walk? It had come here, to Flowerbud village? And who the hell were those men, anyway?

He had to get a closer look. In a crouched position, he quickly headed towards the fence and tried to get a closer look at the three dead people outside of Doug's shop. As he passed the entrance to Flowerbud Ranch, he neglected to notice that the body of Harris was now moving.

The child had approached the living quarters across from the shop and was banging almost lazily upon the door with his fists. A dull thud was heard with every hit. In the silence it was almost unnerving.

Meanwhile, Ben had successfully hidden himself in the grassfields, where several cows were still grazing lazily, taking no notice of the decayed strangers wandering the property.

Any moment now, the fun would begin. Jeff didn't know what he was getting himself into.

-

Ann had noticed Tito sneaking alongside the back wall though one of the windows. Frightened, she got up from the counter and bumped into Danny, who turned, startled.

"What is it?" he whispered.

Ann looked at him, and then pointed toward the window she was just next to.

Danny moved slowly over to it and tried to get a look outside. Just then, Tito appeared on the other side. Danny jumped a little, but wasn't all that startled.

Tito put a single finger against his lips in a motion of telling them to be quiet. Then he disappeared from view again.

Danny turned to face the others. Doug and Gray had stopped what they were doing; apparently Ann told them somebody else was around.

"It's help," he said quietly. "They're probably here to get rid of those guys."

Ann nodded, calming herself down. She walked over beside the front window and cautiously looked outside of it at the three zombies ambling around.

-

Tito could see Ben in the fields, hiding beside one of the grazing cows. He waved his hand slowly so that Ben would notice him. He did.

Ben nodded, then rummaged hastily through his backpack and got out a submachine gun. Then he looked back up and gave Tito a thumbs-up.

Just then, a twig snapped somewhere behind Tito.

And then several things happened at once.

-

Jeff paused. He was certain the man heard him step on that twig. He heard shuffling, and then the man appeared around the corner, facing him holding a submachine gun in his hands.

"Wait!" Jeff cried out. "I'm hu –"

He never finished. Tito opened fire, and Jeff was riddled with bullets. The gunshots rang out into the day as Jeff fell to the ground. Tito got a good look at him, and then he realized his mistake.

"Oh, shit!" he yelled. "Fuck! Shit, oh fuckin' shit…"

Jeff lay dying on the ground, sputtering blood from his mouth. But then Tito became aware of more gunshots – ones that weren't his own.

Ben had emerged from the fields, firing away at the Wally zombie. Bullets sprayed him and he fell down. Chris and Hugh had turned upon hearing the first gunshot from Tito; now Chris was lunging for Ben. Hugh, however, was lingering back around the shop.

Tito had emerged from behind the shop. Before Ben could question him, Chris had become awfully close. He fired at her waist, but only a few bullets came out before his clip ran dry. Chris stumbled, but remained standing.

"Damn!" Ben yelled, tripping and falling backwards into the fields. Chris remained in pursuit, but Tito took his own submachine gun and blasted away, this time aiming at her head. Several bullets punctured her skull, the rest either hitting her shoulders or just flying straight by. Chris fell limp to the ground in a heap.

Tito helped Ben up, and they both turned to find Hugh.

They didn't need to search for long.

Hugh charged straight into them, knocking them both flat and landing atop Tito.

-

Ann had returned to the counter, sitting in front of the back window. She didn't feel like watching anymore.

"How're they handling it?" Gray asked from his corner. He hadn't moved since he placed himself there.

"I can't really see them now," Doug muttered, straining to catch a look through the front window. "But I want to know what that entire racket was behind us was…"

"Oh, you saw that guy," Gray said. "He probably kicked some dead guy's ass."

Ann and Danny were quiet. Danny had been beside the door, minding his own business, but when he looked up and saw what was behind the back window he suddenly had something else to worry about.

"Ann!" he yelled suddenly. "Behind you!"

Confused, Ann turned only her head around towards the window, but by then it was already too late.

Harris came crashing through the back window, landing atop Ann, who had been beginning to turn her whole body towards him. They both fell to the ground, Ann screaming as the zombified Harris made attempts to eat her.

Before anyone could help her, though, the door suddenly crashed down and in came another person only Danny could recognize.

Grant got up from the floor and stumbled towards them.

"Do something!" Gray yelled. He had left his corner; he and Doug were both behind Danny. But Doug was worried about something else.

"ANN!" he screamed. "ANN!"

Danny grabbed a table lamp from Doug's desk and tried hitting Grant on the head with it. The lightbulb inside shattered, spraying sharp pieces of it onto Grant's head. The zombie stuttered, letting out an angry moan.

"Gray!" Danny called out. "Get something from the counter, quick!"

Gray didn't hesitate. He quickly rushed and grabbed the closest item off of the counter, which was one of the apparently expired cow pregnancy potions. As he handed it to Danny, Doug turned on him.

"HELP HER!" he screamed, motioning to Ann. "GET US THINGS SO WE CAN HELP HER!"

Harris had already ripped a large hole through Ann's overalls; most of her slender waist could be seen now. The end of her short yellow shirt was just above the stomach area, and even the outline of her white panties could be seen. A single ring had been pierced into her belly button.

Gray grabbed two more pregnancy potions and tossed one to Doug. Doug fumbled with it in midair, but Gray didn't wait to see if he was able to catch it. He ran to Ann's aid and smashed the bottle over Harris's head.

It didn't work as he had hoped; the potion contained within the bottle drenched Harris and splattered over his back, but it didn't do much good. Harris had begun to rip at Ann's revealed waist; his teeth clamped over her belly button ring and ripped it clean out.

Ann screamed; blood began flowing straight out of her belly button like river water. There was a crash, Doug apparently couldn't keep ahold of his potion.

"GOD DAMNIT, GET SOMETHING ELSE!" he screamed.

Danny had been warding off Grant this whole time. Knowing it wasn't helping much anymore, he quickly followed suit to Gray and crashed the bottle right over Grant's head.

Something different happened this time. Grant had stopped what he was doing and he was beginning to let out moans of agony. His already-decayed skin seemed to be boiling off. Grant fell with a wet thud against the floor.

"What the hell?" Gray stuttered. "That's not what happened with mine –"

"YOU IDIOT!" Doug bellowed, rummaging the counter. "HAVE YOU NO LOVE FOR YOUR SISTER?"

Before Gray could answer, Ben entered, shortly followed by Tito. Both had pulled out dual pistols.

"Jesus Christ!" Tito yelled, looking down at Grant's disformed body.

Ben, however, immediately raised one of his guns and fired a single shot at Harris's head. He fell off Ann, killed instantly.

"Ann!" Doug yelled again, but not as loudly.

He and Gray helped her up. Ann had clamped both of her hands over her exposed stomach; blood was pouring through her fingers insanely fast. Continually she let out sobs or moans of pain.

"We have to hurry," Ben said. "We have another man on Moon Mountain, he's more skilled with medical abilities than we are. Come on!"


	11. Mountain Retreat

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Eleven: Mountain Retreat

Jack was roused by something poking his shoulder. Groggily he rubbed his eyes, trying not to wake Kobi, still sound asleep on his lap, as he did. Turning his head, he saw Popuri kneeling beside him.

"Uh… what do you want?"

"I just…" Popuri hesitated, checking to make sure Maria wasn't looking. "I wanted to say… I'm sorry. I just had to speak my mind, and, well… I guess I got a little carried away."

"You don't say," Jack rolled his eyes. "Maria's on the verge of divorce, I can tell."

"I'll talk to her about it," Popuri assured.

Jack's brow furrowed.

"Somehow that doesn't calm me."

Before Popuri could say another word, a radio that was placed atop a small crate located by the entrance to the fishing tent started buzzing. After casting a last nervous look at Jack, Popuri quickly moved towards the lake's surface again.

"_Coda Squad, Coda Squad, this is HQ. Respond, over."_

Joe quietly attended to it. Grabbing the radio, he placed it beside his ear and spoke into the receiver.

"This is Staff Sergeant Avery. Over."

There was a moment's silence.

"_Avery? This is Lieutenant Ramirez. What's your squad's status? Over."_

"Captain Ridley and Lieutenant Gomez are out securing more people. Our current retreat is up in the mountains – its called Moon Mountain, if I'm not mistaken. We currently have five survivors with us, one man, two women, a little boy, and a dog. Possibly more when my superiors return. Over."

"_Avery, you just hang tight until further notice. Update immediately on status once Ridley and Gomez return. I'll inform you once Major Norton arrives. Over."_

"Acknowledged. Over and out."

The radio buzzed quiet and Joe placed it back upon the crate.

"Coda Squad?" came Maria's curious voice from the lake's bank.

"Yup," Joe said, taking out a chocolate bar ration from his pocket and biting into it. "It's a whole new kind of Special Forces Regiment - one squad for each letter of the alphabet. Obviously, we're C."

"I thought you were K," Popuri said absent-mindedly, lost in staring at the water again.

Maria chose to ignore here.

"So, you aren't the only squad out huh, huh?"

"Nope," Joe responded. "Of course, they're all pretty scattered – just wherever the trouble's brewing… oh, hello hello!"

He grabbed the pair of binoculars in the grass by the crate and stared through them at the entrance of the mountain.

"It's the rest of my team," he reported. "And they've got more survivors… looks like they're in a bit of a fix, though…"

Everyone stood up and tried to get a good look. Kobi woke with a start and hopped off of Jack's lap irritably.

Tito was in front; directly behind him was Doug and Gray, who were both supporting Ann, who had a rather messy appearance. There was blood from the waist down; Since both her arms were over the shoulders of Doug and Gray, Doug had to clasp a hand over her stomach to stop the bleeding from pouring out. He looked to be on the verge of tears. Danny was right beside them, and in the rear was Ben.

"Oh, my God!" Popuri squealed. "What happened to Ann?"

Joe lowered the binoculars. "Step back, everybody! Make room!"

He ushered everyone back as they got closer.

"She's in trouble!" Tito said as he arrived. "There was this ring in her belly button, and a zombie ripped it right out. I don't think it actually bit _her,_ so there's a chance she isn't infected."

"I'll get right on it," Joe said with a nod, and he dashed off to help Doug and Gray bring her over. Once Jack caught sight of Danny, he felt relieved – he was beginning to wonder if he had made it at all.

"You have to help," Doug said through a sob. "We can't stop the bleeding."

"Lay her down up here," directed Joe, rushing them farther uphill to their position. Carefully they laid her down beside the crate. Ann, hysterically sobbing, tried to look around.

"W-what's been going on?" she stammered. "What happened? Why am I - ?"

"Just try to relax and stay still!" Joe ordered. "I'm here to help."

"Are you skilled at this sort of thing?" asked Doug.

"I took an advanced first aid course during training – trust me, I know what I'm doing. Lieutenant, get me my kit, please."

Tito disappeared inside the tent for a moment, and then came back out with a rather large bag. He unzipped it and placed it down beside them.

"Hold pressure on the wound," Joe muttered, going through the bag and taking out a few items. "Gauze, morphine… sir, you wouldn't mind if I gave her morphine, would you?"

Doug, who hadn't been paying attention to him, snapped his head and said, "What?"

Joe held up a syringe. "Morphine. Eases the pain for her."

Doug nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead."

They all had their hands on Ann's stomach, which was smeared with fresh red blood and still spurting more. Ann had become groggy; the severe loss of blood was starting to affect her. Noticing this, Joe became hesitant. "On second thought… maybe later. Now, hold her steady… uh, you, you do it."

He motioned to Jack, who complied. Danny and Popuri stood by; meanwhile Maria took Josh away and tried to distract him to keep him from looking. Doug, Gray and Tito removed their hands quickly and Joe began applying the large pad of gauze over the center of Ann's stomach.

"Careful…" he said to himself. "And… done. I'm afraid there's no much else I can do at this point – that'll take a while to heal, I'm afraid. And, I think she may have lost a lot of blood – too much than she could possibly handle."

"What are you saying?" Doug sputtered. "That she'll die?"

"I'm not saying that she will a hundred percent," Joe stated. "I'm just saying there's a possibility."

"How much of a possibility?" Doug demanded.

"Dad…" Gray started, placing a hand on his shoulder, but Doug brushed him aside.

"Answer me!" Doug yelled.

Ann lay whimpering on the ground – obviously, her wound still hurt.

"I don't know," Joe said plainly. "Come on, let's clean her up…"

Digging through his pack, he pulled out a box of wipes and started wiping the blood off of Ann's stomach. Gray went to help, but Doug stood in his same spot.

"Excuse me?" he said, as if he didn't hear properly.

"You know what I said," Joe replied flatly.

"I know," Doug said in an unusual voice. "I just don't believe it."

"Well, believe what you want to believe," said Joe, throwing a blood-stained wipe onto the grass. He looked at it, and then said "We have to burn these wipes. The zombies'll pick up the stench."

"And they won't smell her?" Gray asked, looking down at his sister. The blood had almost completely gone, save for the patch of gauze which had darkened due to the blood it blocked.

"Its unlikely," Joe answered, pulling out a lighter. "Here, give me yours."

Jack had left Ann's side and was now by the lake. He noticed Popuri was attempting to talk with Maria – it didn't seem like it was going all too well. He shook his head and turned around.

"Is that another educated guess?" Doug spat. "Or do you just not know?"

Sighing, Joe looked over at Gray.

"Can you tell your pops to go eat a pop-tart or something?"

Gray raised an eyebrow. "What's a pop-tart?"

"I've heard they help calm you down."

"Say that to my face!" said Doug loudly.

"Dad!" Gray said with a raised voice. "Just… relax, would you? Ann's okay now. I think she'll be fine."

"You think, but you don't know," Doug responded. "I don't want guesses – I want answers!"

"Fine," Gray said. "She _will_ be okay."

Doug stopped and looked at his son.

"You've never raised your voice like that to me before."

"Yeah, well…" Gray said, his voice back to normal again. "Sometimes, y'know?"

Ben had settled in over by where Jack and Danny were now sitting, which was by the lake. They were watching Popuri and Maria talk about something.

"Hello, chaps," he greeted in a sort of helpless cheerful way. He sat down to join them. "What's up with those two?"

"Oh, I think they're in some sort of dispute," Danny muttered.

"Isn't she your wife, that dark-haired girl?" Ben asked Jack. "The one with the glasses? But then… why were you with that other girl, the one with the pink hair? And why wasn't she wearing any clothes?"

"Shut up," Jack said, avoiding the curious look Danny cast at him. "It's a long story."

"I can bet," Ben said, leaning back. "Now, I don't believe we've been properly introduced. What's your name?"

"Oh, uh, Jack," he said, shaking his hand.

"Danny," said Danny.

"Ben Ridley," Ben said to Danny. "I'd better go meet the others… oh, what are the names of those two, anyway?"

"My wife's name is Maria," Jack said. "The other one… that's Popuri."

"Popuri," Ben mused. "Strange name. But, it resembles her quite well, I think."

"…yeah," Jack muttered awkwardly.

As Ben walked over to the rest of the group, who were engaged in different activities (Gray and Joe were burning the wipes they used to clean Ann's stomach, Doug was sitting down beside the tent petting Kobi, and Tito was leaning against the mountain wall staring into space) he said "Now, gentlemen, I don't believe we were properly introduced. I am Captain Benjamin Ridley, over there is Lieutenant Tito Gomez, and this fine lad is Sergeant Joe Avery. We're special forces sent here to assist Flowerbud Village."

He reached out to shake hands.

"I'm Gray," muttered Gray.

"Doug," Doug said, almost regrettably, shaking Ben's hand only once before going back to petting Kobi.

"So, are we staying up here until it's over?" Gray asked.

"Hopefully," Ben answered, looking down towards the entrance. "Maybe we'll move into the cave before nightfall. If nothing happens until then, we'll try to see about sealing the entrance."

He looked upwards at the sky. It was turning a darker orange, and there were more clouds now.

"And that might be soon," he continued. "So don't fall asleep."

Gray nodded. He breathed, inhaled some of the smoke that came from burning the wipes, and coughed. Joe chuckled.

"Don't you just hate that smell?" he asked.

Coughing again, Gray replied "Yeah. Good thing I don't burn wipes that often."

* * *

**Review Responses/Author's Notes**

angelyoshi4444 – Aha! I figured you'd recognize that, nice work.

WildGamer – Actually, it sort of focuses on both Danny _and_ Jack. Seeing as how they're both the farmers of the separate games, I just thought that would be how it'd go.

gaming boy221 – 1) Yeah, sorry I took so long to update. Check the Important Updates section of my profile for more information on why. 2) Well, the army guys have guns so I think that should be enough. And Jack had that shotgun… but that's pretty much useless now.

**Author's Note: **_Yup. It's official. I'm still alive. As I said before, sorry it took so long, but a lot caught up with me in life and I just couldn't make any time for updating my stories. Hopefully that'll change soon, but I still have my doubts._

_I'll try to update again before this weekend is done. Until then, just keep reviewing. :P_

_SFR_


	12. Waiting

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Twelve: Waiting

The Mayor had shut his curtains. He had decided to stop the anxiety from making him peek outside every five or so minutes. His wife, meanwhile, was still sitting at the table but had stopped drinking the tea, as he desired. Now there didn't seem to be much to do other than wait… if they hadn't been doing that since the beginning.

"Have you looked recently?" his wife asked unexpectedly one moment, out of the silence. It had startled him.

"Oh, what? Sorry… I'll check now."

He went over slowly to his window and, with hesitance, quietly lifted one of the curtains aside.

The area was still clear, with only one problem – the Potion Shop owner's body had disappeared.

"Any sight of that sheep?" his wife asked with a shudder.

"No," he replied, lowering the curtain again. "Please don't remind me of that thing."

"It's horrid," his wife breathed. "How did that thing even come back to life?"

"How did anybody dead come back to life?" the Mayor asked. "We… we lost almost half our citizens, and they all came back to life and attacked the rest of the living! It's a nightmare. It's like something out of one of your Horror novels, or something…"

He began pacing the room, which he found himself doing whenever he was in a nervous situation.

"We've been in here for at least six hours… surely help would have arrived by now… but should I risk going out there? Unprotected? What do you think, dear?"

His wife shook her head immediately. "We're staying in here, forever if necessary. I'm not risking either of us to those… those _things._"

She shuddered again.

"God, I feel cold just thinking about it…"

The Mayor came to a halt in his pacing. Then, he pulled up a chair from the corner and sat down with his wife. Waiting.

Waiting…

That's all they could do.

-

Basil sat in a chair staring at a blank T.V. screen. Lillia had been anxiously peeking through the glass display in the hopes of any sign of their daughter, but without luck – she must've not looked at the right times.

"How can you just… _sit_ there?" she asked him, still upset about what he had said to her before. "Our Popuri is in danger! And yet we're in here…"

Basil rubbed his cheek – it still stung from when she had slapped him.

"If she ran out on us it must mean she wanted to be somewhere else," he mumbled carelessly. "She's probably fine, sweetheart."

"Don't give me that!" Lillia snapped. Looking out the window again, she sighed. "I just… I wish she were back here, with us."

Basil stood up, and went over to her. Standing behind her, he held her arms.

"Don't worry," he said. "Wherever she is, I'm sure she's all right."

They both stared out through the display at part of what once was a peaceful town…

-

Parson Carter was in the midst of dusting off the piano keys to take the time away. Greg, Saibara, and Cliff were still in their same seats in the pews. Each of them were silent – each thinking different thoughts, each wondering about survival.

To everyone's (and even his own) surprise, Cliff turned over to Saibara and spoke to him.

"How were you bitten, anyway?" he asked quietly.

Saibara looked at him with surprise, but answered nonetheless.

"That chump Rick," he growled. "I had just spoken with him, and he comes knockin' on my door, you see. I'm busy working on something, though, so I call 'Just a minute' and keep working. But then he starts pounding it like a madman, so after a minute I stop what I'm doing and open the door to give him a good yellin'. Trouble is… he was dead, or something. Scariest sight I've ever seen…"

He was hesitant for a moment.

"Anyway, he charges me and I try to ward him off with one of my mistakes – bad pot, you see – and smash it over his head. Doesn't seem to affect him much, but I do think part of it got stuck in his head. But that's when he got me in the arm, it was vulnerable when I tried using the pot. Nicked me good… hard to say if I'll get over it easily."

He held out his arm and looked at it. Most of the bandage wrapped around it had gone a rather magenta red.

Saibara didn't look so hot himself. His skin had gone a little pale and he had a sleepy look on his face, like he had been up all night.

"It still stings like a bitch," the old man muttered, still looking at his arm. "Still… one of those stories to talk about once we get outta here, right?"

They were silent again after that.

"Sure," Greg agreed half-heartedly. "Sure… yeah, we will get out of here. Right, Parson?"

Carter merely nodded. Cliff, completely sure that he was doubtful, didn't say a word.

"I think the best thing to do right now," Carter said, lighting a candle stick atop the piano, "Is to ask God to forgive us all."

"Feh," Saibara scoffed. "I asked God for a decent customer once. Didn't get squat!"

-

Joe was sitting out on the hillside, occasionally scoping out the intersection with his binoculars and slowly eating an apple. Doug and Gray were now sitting beside Ann, who had fallen asleep. Jack, Danny, and Ben were squatting beside the lake.

"Think that Popuri girl's actually sorted it out with Maria yet?" Danny asked.

"I doubt it," Jack muttered. "And personally I don't think it's much of your business."

"Just curious is all," Danny said. "After all… y'know, who isn't intrigued by romance stuff anyway?"

"He's got a point, there," agreed Ben.

"Just get off my back," Jack grumbled. "I'll gladly talk if it's about something else."

"Okay," Danny said. "Hey, Ben… is any more backup gonna arrive, or what?"

"Only when it's truly needed," responded Ben. "Until then… we're on our own. But I wouldn't worry… Coda Squad's got some talent."

"Mmm," Danny said. "What do you think, Jack?"

"Hmm?" Jack looked up. "Oh, yeah. Real impressive."

Ben laughed. "At least say it like you mean it, mate."

Jack chuckled.

"Just kidding, pal," Ben said, patting his back. He stood up. "Well, I'm gonna check on Lieutenant Gomez and… say, where are those ladies?"

Jack and Danny looked around. Indeed, Maria and Popuri weren't in sight.

"They went up to the wishing pond to pick some fruit," came Tito's voice the entrance of the tent. "And to talk, I guess."

"You let them go up there without protection?" asked Ben, apparently appalled.

"Hey, this place is supposed to be secure, right?" Tito said mockingly, giving Ben a look.

Ben, surprised by his attitude, merely said "Yes… of course."

Lighting a cigarette, Tito mumbled, "That's what I thought. Hey Joe, watch the perimeter, I gotta take a leak."

He trudged off towards the river. Joe simply nodded his reply, still looking through his binoculars.

"Whatever you say, Lieutenant," he said quietly. He chewed another piece off of his apple.

-

"…so you understand, right? Jack had no intention to cheat on you at all. That's just how I felt, and, well… I guess I carried it a little too far away."

Maria and Popuri were indeed picking fruits. As Popuri wrapped up what she had been saying, Maria was putting another Veryberry fruit into a small basket she had found on the side of the path.

"I understand perfectly," she said. "It just… angers me."

Popuri looked away regrettably. "I was afraid of that."

Maria turned to face her. "You mean you weren't expecting me to be mad, or something?"

"No, not at all!" Popuri exclaimed. "I knew what would happen if I was caught, but I did it anyway… that's just love."

"So, there's no doubt you're in love with my husband anymore, right?" Maria demanded.

Popuri hesitated.

"…yes," she answered.

Maria paused.

"I see."

She turned back around and looked for another Veryberry fruit.

"I mean, obviously this sort of thing has happened before, right?" Popuri asked nervously.

Again, Maria paused.

"Honestly? No… not much. I thought maybe Harris once… well… I was wrong when I thought it would work out. Still hard to believe he's dead now…"

"Oh…" Popuri said sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Maria muttered. "That's in the past. We need to focus on the present."

Popuri looked up at the sky. "Almost dark… we should head back."

Maria didn't have to look up. "Yeah… sure thing."

"I'm glad we got to talk about it," Popuri said in a would-be reassuring voice, but she wondered if even she was reassured.

"Yeah," Maria said. "Let's just… try to cope with it."

Popuri nodded. "Yeah. Sorry to… y'know… butt in like that. I don't know _what_ I was thinking…"

"Popuri… just forget it."

Popuri fell silent. "Yes. Sorry."

They walked down the path back towards where the rest of the group were.


	13. Darkness

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Thirteen: Darkness

Night was starting to overshadow Flowerbud Village. The calming orange, already getting blocked out by the small clusters of graying clouds, was starting to fade into a dark blue. Only a few stars were in sight. It seemed almost quiet… but everybody knew better.

Joseph Avery was on the verge of dozing off. The night had a passive feeling to it. A few feet away his radio buzzed silently, sitting atop the small box outside the fisherman's tent. He was squatting with his binoculars hung by a strap around his neck. His eyes slowly closed.

A figure appeared behind him and tapped his shoulder.

"Joe!"

Joe woke instantly with a shout.

"Whoah!"

Benjamin Ridley jumped back. "Did I startle you?"

Joe quickly stood, acting official. "Uh, no, I mean yes, sir."

"Sorry about that," apologized the captain. "I was just checking if the coast was clear."

Joe did a quick scan of the intersection with his binoculars. Nothing appeared to be there.

"Seems secure at the moment, sir."

"Good man. We're moving up towards that Carpenter's cabin."

Joe looked at the cabin settled across the river at a slightly higher elevation. "That one, sir?"

"The very one," answered Ben. "If my assumptions are correct, it'll probably be abandoned. Get your gear; Tito's already got the medical supplies."

Joe looked over at everyone else around the pond. They had all gathered; Danny and Jack were still in a hushed conversation, Doug and Gray were helping Ann to her feet with Popuri's assistance, and Maria, who was holding Josh, looked like she didn't want to be near anybody at the moment. Kobi heeded at her ankles. Tito was just leaving the tent.

"I went through there and found some food," he muttered, lifting up two lunchbox-like containers with one hand. In the other hand he held a bag with the red cross stamped on it – the medical supplies. "There's probably enough for all of us, but we'll worry about eating once we're inside."

"I don't like the idea of locking ourselves in," Popuri said. "What if those things surround us like they almost did at Flowerbud Ranch?"

Knowing she was referring to Jack's ranch, Ben replied "Myself, Lieutenant Gomez and Sergeant Avery will be on night watch. It isn't good sleep-wise, but it's likely we'll have shifts."

He turned to Doug, Gray, and Ann.

"Can you walk?" he asked Ann.

Ann groaned. The loss of so much blood had made her woozy.

"I… I think so…" she said weakly.

"Very well…" Ben said doubtfully. "Do we have everything?"

"Joe, get the radio," Tito said.

Joe stepped over to the box and reached out to grab the radio. At that moment, it suddenly blared and a voice began to speak. It was unfamiliar to the one that had contacted them earlier.

"_Coda Squad?" _it said._ "Come in, please… is anyone there?"_

Although surprised, Joe responded quickly. "Staff Sergeant Avery reporting in."

There was a pause in the transmission.

"_Ah, Avery! This is Major Norton. I've just been down to Forget-me-not Valley. You wouldn't believe the kind of shit Gideon Squad encountered there."_

Joe said, hopefully as a joke, "Could you enlighten us, sir?"

Ben and Tito came in for better hearing.

"_Apparently the town was overrun with these weird… gorilla-type things. Those things had ripped apart any of the zombies that stayed behind, because there were pieces of them everywhere. But there have been reports of some zombies run off into the woods… the only expected place they could've turned up in was either the city of your position, Flowerbud Village._

"_When reps from HQ came down there – myself included – we saw the effects the virus had on Forget valley. It was horrible. Dead people fucking everywhere. It would have been a miracle if anybody survived that…"_

"As a matter of fact," Joe cut in, but respectfully. "The only survivor is with us right now."

"_Oh," _Major Norton's reply was simple._ "But it gets stranger. We found a large complex underneath the town, belonging to some Corporation known as Umbrella. We can't contact them. It was even worse down there, Joe. Apparently they had been using it as testing facility, because there are laboratories and zombies everywhere down there. Most of Gideon Squad's still trying to clear it out. I had spoken with their CO, Captain Blum, and he said that they had found two strange serums. They're back here at HQ – they could really do us some good."_

"D'you think it has anything to do with the virus itself?" questioned Joe curiously.

"_I don't know," _Norton said. _"But it's likely. Listen, be on alert. Chances are those scaly gorilla things… whatever the hell they are… will come by Flowerbud. Ramirez is on break, but he'll be back soon to update you." _He sighed._ "The General's starting to think about going down there himself… well… sorry, I'm droning on. God speed. Be careful, okay?"_

"You can count on us, Major."

"_I know I can. Norton out."_

There was a silence after the radio went back to its usual buzzing.

"Well," Popuri said quietly. "I think getting indoors sounds like a better idea now."

Gray looked over at her, nodding. "Yeah, uh… me too."

"Well, we'd best hurry," Ben said, looking up at the sky. "It's bound to get darker."

Joe grabbed the small radio and the band of survivors started towards the log bridge.

-

As they approached the carpenter's area, carefully crossing the conveniently placed logs that served as the bridge, Doug was the first to notice that the lights inside the cabin were on.

He pointed it out to the rest. "Look."

"Lights," Tito said quietly.

"D'you think anybody's inside?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Ben responded. "Our best action is to just check. There's a chance it could be more of those undead chaps rather than living ones…"

When they reached the other side of the bridge, Tito and Joe pulled out their pistols. Following suit, Ben said in a silent whisper, "Follow my lead, mates. The rest of you, stay down here and try not to be seen."

The three snuck off stealthily towards the cabin porch. Ben signaled with his hand for Tito and Joe to cover the rear, and then slowly stepped up towards the front door. He tried a peek through the window.

In Ben's eyes he couldn't see anybody – he didn't dare poke his head out too far. The Leader of the Carpenters was hiding right behind the door with a double-barreled shotgun similar to the one Jack had back at the farm.

As Ben began to reach for the doorknob, the door was burst open and the Leader was seen pointing the shotgun right at his face.

Tito and Joe raised their guns.

"Hold your fire!" Ben yelled out.

The Carpenter Leader lowered his weapon. "Jesus Christ! You scared me good, friend."

"And vice versa," Ben said lowly. "You're the carpenters, I take it?"

"Yeah," said the Leader, placing his gun against the wall in the corner. He glanced over at the rest of the group. "Jesus Christ. How many of there are you?"

Tito and Joe had lowered their pistols and put them away. "Twelve," he answered. "And that would include us… and the dog."

At Maria's side, Kobi raised his ears.

"I'm not sure I can exactly fit all of you in here," the Leader said, with regret. "I've got two of my own in here…"

Two of the carpenters, almost completely identical, appeared behind him.

"What about the cellar?" asked the first.

"What?" the Leader said. Then… "Oh!"

"What is it?" asked Joe.

"We've got a cellar downstairs," the Leader explained. "Maybe all of you could fit down there. Hang on a tick."

He disappeared behind the two carpenters. There was a shuffling noise, followed by an awkward silence, more shuffling, and then he finally reappeared.

"It could do," he said. "Obviously all of us can't be in there at the same time, but it'll do."

"I have an idea!" Popuri suddenly said. "Couldn't we just… stay around here, outside? I mean, we don't want to be all cramped up inside unless we have to, right?"

"Hmmm…" Ben pondered. "I suppose that could do. We can't risk crossing the bridge, though."

"Of course," Popuri responded. "What do you guys think?"

There were small mutters of agreement, some cheerful, some toneless as if they didn't care.

"Sure thing," Danny said.

"Sounds good," Jack agreed.

"Definitely," said Gray.

"I'm fine with it," Maria said.

"Whatever," muttered Doug.

Taking notice of Ann, the Leader said with sudden concern, "She should come inside. We could put her on the bed."

"Yes, good idea," Ben nodded. "Tito, Joe, help the miss…"

"We can do, thank you," Doug said shortly.

"Of course," Ben responded. "Well, we need to get our luggage off our shoulders… if you don't mind, sir."

"Not at all," the Leader said, stepping aside. The two carpenters did the same.

Ben, followed by Tito and Joe, entered. Doug and Gray helped Ann onto the balcony before the carpenters offered their assistance.

The cabin was a cozy place – there was a patterned rug placed in the center of the wooden floor, with a small table placed atop the center of the rug. Cabins were aligned against the side walls, as well as a bed in the back left corner of the room and a desk with a chair in the right.

"Make yourselves at home," the Leader said welcomingly.

As Ann was carefully laid down on the bed, Joe placed the radio on the center table while Tito put their medical and food supplies on the desk. Jack and Danny, along with little Josh, entered and looked around.

"Comfy," Danny remarked.

"Thank you," the Leader acknowledged. "I made it myself a long time ago; almost can't remember it… o'course, it's changed a little since."

"Is there TV?" Josh asked.

The Leader chuckled. "Yes, there is. 'Fraid there isn't much on that you'd be interested in, though."

Josh frowned. "Awww…"

Ben stepped up to him. "I'm afraid we haven't been properly introduced… Captain Benjamin Ridley, Special Forces Unit. These two lads are Lieutenant Tito Gomez and Sergeant Joe Avery."

"It's a real pleasure," the Leader said, shaking the hands of all three. "You can call me Chief. I lead the carpenters."

The two carpenters took their turns for handshakes.

"I'm Buzz," the first said.

"Ace," the second said.

"You two twins?" asked Tito.

"Yup," Buzz answered.

"So, it's just you three?" Ben inquired.

"Well…" Chief hesitated. "There was a fourth, but he went up towards the top of the mountain but we haven't seen him since."

"Ah," Ben said, and then was quiet.

"I'll be outside," Gray muttered, getting up and patting his father's shoulder just before heading to the door.

"Me too!" Josh said, following.

"As a matter of fact, I'd best remain outside myself," Joe said. "Let me know if the radio gets anything."

"Will do," said Ben.

Joe gave a respectful nod to Chief and the carpenters before leaving.

-

As Joe exited the cabin, he saw that everybody had already split up. Josh had gone over to his mother Maria and sat down beside her at a spot beside the cabin. Kobi was nestled next to them. Gray simply left the porch stairs and leaned back against the wall, staring up at the sky. Popuri was by herself, looking at the flowers nearby the Wishing Pond.

Quietly Joe stepped down from the porch, walked up past Maria and Josh and headed towards the higher part of the area, nearby the cave entrance, where he could have a good look at the entrance to Moon Mountain to see if anything was coming. He took off his backpack, which had his weapons inside it (save for the pistol, which was in a gun holster on his belt), and sat down in the cool grass. Now that he had gotten to move around he wasn't so tired anymore.

After a few seconds he had searched his backpack for a book, and had started to read by flashlight. Popuri, tired of the flowers, had gone over to Gray to try and start a conversation.

"Hey," she said quietly.

He looked down at her, then almost looked away. "Hey."

She stepped a little close to him. "How're you pulling off?"

Gray sighed. "Decently," he answered. "I can't say it's been the happiest day of my life."

Popuri chuckled, but it was out of respect and understanding. "I haven't seen my parents in a while… I wonder how they're doing…"

"I bet they're fine," Gray said. "A guy like your dad could live through anything."

Popuri smiled. "I suppose…"

They both fell silent and looked at the ground.

"Can I ask you something?" Popuri said. "I mean, it's a little personal, so you don't have to…"

Gray shrugged. "Go ahead."

"How do you feel about… well… your sister being hurt and all that? I mean, do you think she'll live?"

Gray didn't say anything for a minute.

"You don't have to answer that," Popuri repeated quickly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that…"

"No, no… it's okay," Gray said. "Of course, it makes me sad and angry to know she had been hurt like that… I mean, why wouldn't it? I was supposed to look out for her…"

"It wasn't your fault," Popuri said softly.

"Well… I know," Gray muttered. "I'm just worried for her… y'know… and wondering if she'll make it or not, with all that blood loss, just makes me worry more…"

"I'm sorry," said Popuri sympathetically.

"It's… okay. Really," Gray replied.

They were both quiet again. Then it was Gray's turn to break the silence.

"Y'know," he said. "It's kinda funny; that's the first time I've told anybody how I've felt… about anything, that is," he added quickly.

Popuri glanced at him.

"Really?" she said, surprised.

"That surprises you?" Gray raised his eyebrows.

"Well, yeah!" Popuri said. "I mean, I thought you did it at least a few times before…"

"I don't talk that much," Gray shrugged again. "I… guess I don't know that many people too well… aside from you, Jack, and my family, I mean…"

Popuri looked at him. "So you've never just… talked about anything?"

Gray gave a third shrug. "Not as far as I can remember. I'm a loner, remember?"

Popuri smiled. "Oh, come on… you're not a loner."

Gray didn't speak. Maybe Popuri was imagining it, but she could've sworn she saw him blushing a little…

"Another personal question here…" Popuri said quietly. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," said Gray simply.

"So does that mean you've… never told a girl you liked her?"

"Um…" Gray seemed uncomfortable. "No."

"Oh…" Popuri said. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It's pretty much my fault anyway."

"So that means you've at least liked a girl before?"

Gray said slowly, "Well… yeah. I mean, which guy doesn't?"

Popuri laughed. "I guess that's true…"

They fell into their fourth silence.

"There is…" Gray started, but seemed hesitant. "There is something, though, that I've been wanting to talk to someone about…"

"…really?" Popuri asked, curious.

"Yeah," Gray said, looking embarrassed.

"Well… why don't we talk about it someplace else?"

* * *

**Review Responses**

Horseface – Yeah, Mary was named Maria in Harvest Moon 64 for some reason. To be honest, I like it more than Mary, but whatever, y'know?


	14. Cause and Effect

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Fourteen: Cause and Effect

Inside the Florist Shop, Basil was starting to lose patience.

He and Lillia had turned on the TV – the only channel that was available now was the News, which still had the emergency breaking news update going. The grim-faced reporter with the slicked-back-by-gel hair was still on the air, but it must have been a while for him – it had been going on since morning. He had taken off his suit.

The reporter rubbed his eyes. He seemed very tired.

"We've recently received reports about the virus spreading seaward," he droned in a monotonous voice, proving only more so that he was exhausted. "However, scientists are starting to deny them… however; it is still at large farther inland. Towns like Forget-me-not Valley have unfortunately suffered the full blast. We now take you live to reporter Jack Habbeger. Jack?"

The camera cut to a much younger reporter who didn't look tired at all. Rather he looked scared shitless.

"Tom, I'm out here in Forget Valley, where… my God, it's a massacre. There are bodies everywhere but, strangely enough, some of them aren't even _human. _Take a look over here…"

He started rushing away towards one of the bodies. The camera wobbled as its carrier tried to keep up with him. They crossed a bridge and arrived in an open field, where a farm can be seen in the background.

"Look at this thing," Habbeger panted. "It looks like… some kind of scaly gorilla! And that isn't all, Tom, but Captain Blum of the SFOAR, or Special Forces Operations And Rescue, has told me that his squad uncovered some kind of secret laboratory facility underneath Forget Valley… the sights in there… Christ, I can't even describe it."

"Jack, can you at least tell me what you think happened?" came the grim reporter's voice.

Habbeger hesitated, then looked into the camera. "Well, Tom, I think it's safe to say there were no survivors. The facility apparently belongs to Umbrella Corporation. Police and Officials are trying to contact their CEO, but they can't get through to him… maybe he doesn't want to be found…"

There was the longest pause before he spoke again.

"Back to you, Tom."

The live feed cut off and they were watching the grim-faced reporter again.

"The situation seems to be developing from there. For all we know this virus may have originated in Forget Valley… wait a minute… this just in. Reports indicate that strange fruits growing in the Arklay Mountains have connections to the virus. It says here that if a person eats one of these fruits… they'll be infected with the virus. This may explain the tragic slaughters that befell Forget Valley and –"

Basil switched the T.V. off.

"A god damned fruit," he muttered. "A fruit. How fucking typical."

Lillia said nothing.

"Y'know, I heard Rick talking about some weird fruit," Basil continued. "Looked like shit, but solid gold inside. I knew there was some sort of problem with it."

"None of us could have known any of this would happen," Lillia said quietly.

Basil looked at her.

"I suppose you're right, hon," he muttered. "But, still. I'm not sitting here anymore. I have to do something. I'm gonna find Popuri."

"Whatever happened to her being 'as good as dead'?" Lillia said with miserable sarcasm.

"I could be wrong," Basil said. "I'm going out to find her."

Realizing he wasn't screwing around, Lillia quickly got out of her seat.

"You're not kidding," she said slowly.

"No. I'm not," said Basil flatly. "If I can't find our daughter, I'll… I have to do _something, _okay? I can't sit down and let this all happen."

"There's nothing you can do!" Lillia half-shouted. "It can't be prevented! Don't do anything stupid, you could die out there!"

"I'll take my chances," Basil stubbornly grumbled, heading for the counter. There was a locked drawer in the register's desk. Taking a key from one of his sealed pockets, he carefully inserted it into the lock and turned. The drawer slid open – a shotgun was inside, along with ammunition.

"Good lord," Lillia gasped, as Basil took it out and loaded it. "How long was that in there?"

"Long enough," Basil replied simply.

"Who would rob a _flower shop?"_ Lillia asked, enraged.

"I don't know," said Basil. "But it sure would've been funny as hell to pull this out if anyone had tried."

Holding the weapon over his shoulder, Basil then headed for the door.

"Basil…" Lillia started, but he cut her off.

"I'm going whether you like it or not," he snapped.

"…please be careful."

Basil slowly faced her. The anger had left his eyes.

"I will."

He unlocked the door and opened it. Before leaving, he turned to her again and said, "I love you."

Then, the door was closed and locked and he was gone.

-

Joe was still outside, giving an occasional scan of the Moon Mountain entrance with his binoculars. When not watching the entrance he kept a careful eye on everyone else who was outside – Josh and Maria had gone down to the Wishing Pond and Tito had come outside to the porch for a smoke. Chief shortly came outside to join him. The rest were indoors, save for a certain two.

Just as Joe was wondering where Gray and Popuri were, he saw them out of the corner of his eyes heading up towards the cave.

"Where are you two going?" he called out.

Both acted surprised, but Popuri quickly responded. "We're just going inside the cave to check things out. I haven't been in there before, and, well… neither has he."

Joe didn't believe them, but it didn't bother him. "Mmm-hmm… well… enjoy that. Don't get lost," he said with a chuckle.

Gray and Popuri continued until they were inside.

"_Have_ you been in here before?" Popuri asked.

"Actually, I have," Gray answered. "But it doesn't matter."

They both noticed at the same time how dark it was inside the cave.

"Can we get some light in here?" came Popuri's voice.

"I think there's a switch somewhere," said Gray, feeling around the cave walls. "It's here… somewhere… aha, found it."

A fluorescent light fixture installed in the ceiling slowly beamed up, bathing them in a dim white light.

"That's better," Gray muttered, looking nervous all of the sudden. Popuri was watching him and noticed the change immediately.

"So… what do you want to talk about?" she pushed, still feeling curious.

"Well…" Gray said, gulping. "It's kind of hard to explain… and bear with me, it takes a while to explain things when I'm nervous."

"Well… why are you nervous?"

Gray suddenly felt dread; he hadn't meant to say that he was nervous.

"Well… um…"

"Is it another thing that you haven't told anyone before?" Popuri guessed, politely.

"…sort of," Gray stammered. "Let's put it this way, it involves… my personal feelings."

"I see," Popuri said. She looked at him again. "Look, if you're too nervous to talk about it now, maybe you can tell me later…"

"No! No, I… I want to talk about it now…"

"Okay," Popuri said, with a smile.

Gray sat down against the cave's wall, near the mining area's locked entrance. Popuri respectfully sat down next to him, looking at him straight in the face to show that she was listening. Gray tried not to meet her gaze for some reason.

"Well, I… Jesus, it's hard to explain. I… kind of… well…"

Popuri was suddenly reminded of herself when she was trying to tell Jack something.

"I've been… feeling something for… a bit of a… um, long while now. Yeah."

Popuri nodded, still watching him. She had never seen him act this way before.

"It… anything wrong?" she asked.

"No, no," Gray said, taking in a deep breath to try and calm down. "Everything's just fine. Um, anyway, I've been… wondering what it was, and, well, I'm starting to think it's… er… um… God, this is so awkward, I just…"

"Just try to calm down," Popuri laughed.

"Okay… okay…" Gray replied, taking in more breaths. He was silent for a moment with his eyes closed. When he opened them, he finally turned and looked Popuri straight in the eyes. For a long while he hesitated to say it, but he finally worked up the strength to do it.

"I think its love," he said straight out. "I think I'm in love. With you."

At first Popuri didn't say anything. Gray thought his fate was sealed, but then she said "Why didn't you just say so?"

They looked each other in the eye again. Then, they both laughed.

"See how easy that was?" Popuri asked.

"…well…" Gray said, his mood instantly changing. "Aren't you surprised?"

"Are you kidding? Yeah!" Popuri exclaimed gleefully. "I mean, I had no idea! I mean, maybe I could've guessed, but I didn't really think about it that much! Wow… that's… that's great news, Gray."

"It is?" Gray asked.

"Yeah…" Popuri said, smiling at him. "It's funny, when we were younger I actually used to have a crush on you."

Now it was Gray's turn to be surprised.

"R-Really?" he sputtered.

Popuri nodded. "I told my mother all the time about it, but I thought you'd never like he back. It's funny, you know, because now…"

They were both silent. Then Popuri turned and faced Gray again.

"Gray, I'm really glad to hear this."

Gray slowly faced her. "You… you really are?"

Popuri nodded wordlessly. "Yes."

Their eyes met. They were stuck in a trance – Popuri was caught in Gray's dark, blue eyes and Gray caught in her bright green ones.

They didn't realize it, but they were pulling in closer to each other. And when they did, they didn't seem to care at all.

When they were close enough they closed their eyes. They kept moving closer. Gray opened one eye and he could've counted her eyelashes if he wanted too.

It was all lost to him soon enough, though.

Popuri seemed to be hesitant at first. But then she pushed her head slightly forward the rest of the way and finally they embraced; she pressed her soft lips against Gray's in a long, passionate kiss.

The kiss lasted a long time.

When they parted, they only moved a few inches before opening their eyes again. Once again they were lost in each other's eyes – and, before they even knew it, they had pulled in for another kiss.

When the second kiss ended they didn't part. Instead they took a second or two of a pause and kissed again, and repeated the motion until they started to kiss at a frantic pace, turning their bodies to face each other as they did.

-

Meanwhile, while his daughter was having an intimate moment, Basil cautiously crept through the silent, dark village of Flowerbud. He was rubbing his hands together, the shotgun held under his armpit.

"Bloody cold out here," he said through clenched teeth. "And it's almost pitch black – I should've brought my damn flashlight."

As he passed the church and approached the stairs to the town square, his instincts detected some kind of noise behind him. He turned around, his shotgun instantly in his hands.

Nothing was there.

For a moment Basil thought about calling out, but he knew that probably was a bad idea. Instead he turned left and started heading towards the bridge to cross over to the library. He figured it was part of his imagination playing tricks on him.

However, he was wrong.

As he passed the building that had Rick and Saibara's shops, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed him.

-

Danny and Josh were still inside the cabin. Ace had found an Uno Card Game box and they started a quiet game with Buzz at the center table.

"God damn," Danny said after Ace won for the third time. "You're a pro at this, Ace. Hell, you're an Ace."

"Have that nickname for a reason," Ace said, sounding boastful.

"Eh, don't worry about playing actual card games with him," Buzz reassured. "Ace completely sucks at poker."

"I do not!" Ace protested. "I… just never learned how to play it properly is all!"

"Yeah. Right," snorted Buzz.

Ace stood up from his seat. "Fine, I'll prove it to you! Danny, get the card set."

"Where is it?"

"In the desk drawer… no, the desk's over there… yeah! That's it!"

Danny opened one of the desk's small drawers and took out a small pack of regular cards held together by a rubber band. Bringing them back over, he placed them on the table between Ace and Buzz, who were sitting across from each other.

"You guys wanna play?" Buzz asked without looking away from Ace.

"Uh, no thanks," Jack said awkwardly.

"Pardon me for saying, but this sounds like it'll be entertaining," Danny remarked.

"No offense taken," Ace said. Despite his tough attitude, he did look a little nervous.

"Believe me, when Ace starts over-reacting like he does, it'll be entertaining enough," Buzz said with a sneer.

Frustrated, Ace sputtered, "Well, let's just… _gah!_ Why are we getting so competitive over cards, anyway?"

Danny nodded to Jack. "I just know I'm gonna like this."

-

Maria and Josh were coming back from the wishing pond. Noticing Popuri was gone, she asked Tito if he knew where she was.

"I wouldn't know," Tito answered. "Try asking Joe; he's s'posed to keep an eye out for everyone."

"She's probably fine, if that's what you're worried about," Chief added.

Maria nodded. Telling Josh to go inside, she headed over to where Joe was farther uphill.

"Sergeant… Avery, right? Do you know where Popuri is?"

"Pink-haired lady, right? She went into the cave with that Gray fellow."

Maria snorted. "First my husband, and now Gray? How does somebody find _any_ fucking time for romance during something like this?"

Joe pretended to be oblivious. "I don't know what you mean, ma'am."

Maria gave an irritated sigh. "Nevermind… I'll be inside."

Joe nodded. As Maria left, he took his binoculars and did his routine check on the entrance.

-

True to Maria's suspicions, Popuri and Gray were making love on the cave floor. Gray had pushed himself atop Popuri and had been searching his hands over her clothes – he couldn't help himself. Popuri, in turn, did the same to him.

As Popuri kissed him, Gray's hand came across a button on her leathery, vest-like overshirt. Without thinking, he unfastened it. But when he realized what he had done and froze, Popuri didn't seem to mind at all. She was still kissing him.

Shrugging, Gray continued through the rest of the buttons until the vest overshirt was cast to the side and forgotton. Gray had the strong urge to do the same to her formal shirt as Popuri began kissing his collarbone. As her lips pressed against his cheek, he turned his head and engaged them with his own.

Coming back to the ground, Gray began working his way down Popuri's lovely form, kissing her neck and her collarbone while she closed her eyes and let out seductive sighs as he did so; he went all the way down to pecking her shoulders, her torso and her breasts. His head stopped at level with her chest and he stared at the buttons on her shirt. Noticing his halt in movement, Popuri opened her eyes and raised her head to look at him. His eyes met hers.

"Can I?" he asked breathlessly.

Popuri nodded. That was all he needed to see.

Instantly he returned to her sweet, luscious lips and kissed her; at the same time his fingers fumbled on the first button to her formal shirt. As it unfastened, he grew hasty with the next button and almost had trouble with it. As he went through with unbuttoning the rest, his head returned to chest level and his eyes marveled at what was being revealed to him, occasionally lowering his head to gently kiss her chest.

As soon as the last button was undone Popuri leaned slightly upwards, balancing herself on her elbows, and Gray slid the shirt down her arms. Popuri leaned farther upwards so that she could bend her arms straight, letting out a tiny cry as she did so; her chest was inches from Gray's face. Gray couldn't resist noticing how enhanced Popuri's breasts seemed under her sexy, strapless pink bra.

Once the shirt was out of the picture Popuri instantly forced Gray to roll over so that she was on top, she let out a triumphant giggle, letting her beautiful pink hair loose, and then came in and kissed him again. As they were pulled into another session of kissing, Gray's hands caressed the fabrics of her dress before searching out the zipper and pulling down on it. As the dress slowly loosened and pulled shortly down Popuri's slender legs, revealing her panties, Popuri began working on the buttons of Gray's shirt. With a seductive twist of her thighs and the shifting of her legs, she managed to get the dress off without any assistance.

When Gray's shirt was opened, the couple rolled over the cold cave floor, not letting the temperature get to them. Gray raised his head and stared down at the beauty before him and she stared back up at him, grinning mischievously, her hair sprawled out over the floor around her head. There she was, the girl he loved, laying below him in nothing but her underwear.

"You know, it's funny," Popuri panted, still grinning. "Earlier today I thought I was in love with Jack and tried to tell him…"

"You… uh… I… what?" Gray said, almost stuttering again. "Wait… maybe we got a little _too_ carried away here –"

"Oh, nevermind," Popuri said, trying not to think about it, and then pulled him in for another kiss.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yeah. I may have been a bit perverted when I did this. But then again, that's your average horror flick for ya…

And before I forget, special thanks to the reviewers who have remained patient with me between updates for the past few months – more specifically kittychobit, Horseface, and WildGamer. Feedback means a lot to me, so please keep reviewing! Thanks.

SFR.


	15. Sight Seeing

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Fifteen: Sight Seeing

"Holy shit!"

Basil spun around, aiming the shotgun directly at whoever had grabbed him. Upon seeing who it was, he immediately halted.

"Elli?"

The bakery worked looked mortified. She looked around, shaking.

"I… I'm looking for Jeff," she said, shivering. "He… he left the bakery a while ago and I haven't seen him since. He said he was taking a walk, or something…"

"Ssssh, ssssh," said Basil. "We'll find him. Come with me, you must be very cold…"

"I mean, before he had been talking about not going outside at all," Elli continued, practically quaking. "And then he just suddenly leaves and doesn't come back. D'you think something's happened to him?" she asked, looking at Basil with teary eyes.

"We'll find him," Basil repeated. "Come here."

He hugged her, patting her back.

"It'll be fine," he reassured. "Come on, we'd best get indoors first."

-

Elli unlocked the door to the bakery and turned on the lights as they entered. As she shut it behind her, she muttered "I kept it locked, just in case."

"I can't blame you," Basil said quietly.

"Is Popuri okay? Where is she?"

Basil paused.

"She ran off, too. I haven't seen her since."

"Oh…" Elli fell silent. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Basil said. "Where do you think Jeff would go?"

"To be honest, I have no clue," Elli said helplessly. "I rarely saw him outside the bakery except for festivals and such…"

Basil sat down beside the counter. "Where _would _a baker go?"

"You don't have to worry about it," said Elli quickly. "You're probably looking for your daughter, right? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have dragged you here…"

"No, no," Basil interrupted. "I am looking for her, but it'd be selfish to be determined on just one person."

"I suppose," Elli agreed slowly.

Basil stood up, stretching. "You should stay in here. You looked scared to death out there. I'll come back and tell you if I find anything."

"But…" Elli seemed hesitant. "Okay… if you say so."

"Lock the doors after I leave," Basil instructed, opening the door. "I'll see you soon."

He closed it behind him. Elli took a moment to recollect herself before following suit to his orders.

-

It was almost nine thirty when Joe finally caught sight of something.

"Uh… hey!" he called.

Both Tito and Chief turned upon hearing him.

"What's up?" asked Tito.

"Get Captain Ridley out here right now," Joe responded.

They didn't move.

"Now!" he snapped. Tito flinched, then went inside.

About five seconds later, Ben came outside and walked over to him.

"What is it?" he asked, looking serious.

Joe handed him the binoculars. "Take a look, sir."

Ben respectfully took the binoculars, raised them to his eyes, and peered.

"What in God's name…?"

What looked like a decayed farm sheep was wandering around in the plains below.

"Is that… a sheep?" Ben asked with disbelief.

"Looks zombified to me," Joe muttered.

"What should we do?" Tito inquired, joining them.

Jack had stepped out by now. Catching a sight of the sheep, his jaw dropped.

"What the hell – is that… _Flossie?"_

The three of them looked at him.

"You know this thing?" Tito asked.

"I used to own it," Jack answered, walking up to the cliff. Ben offered the binoculars to him, which he accepted for a closer look. "I buried it three months ago."

"Looks like the virus wasn't too late for this guy," remarked Joe.

"I guess," Jack muttered, handing the binoculars back to Ben.

"Law low for a while," Ben decided. "We don't want to attract any attention. Tito, go tell the others inside."

Tito nodded, heading for the porch, where Chief had been watching silently the whole time.

"I'll stay out here for a while," Ben said. "Fresh air feels good in the lungs, doncha know…"

Joe nodded. As Ben walked off, he started chuckling to himself. "A fucking sheep…"

He turned and looked up at the cave entrance.

-

Popuri was positioned atop Gray, exchanging kisses slowly and softly with him. She was still in her revealing underwear.

After maybe their fifth exchange, Popuri heard a voice and looked up. Gray found himself staring directly into her cleavage.

"What was that?" Popuri asked.

Gray seemed completely oblivious. "Um… wha?"

"Listen…" Popuri said, turning her head so that her ear was towards the entrance and listening intently.

"Uh… hello?" came Joe's voice. "Are you two in there?"

"Say something!" Popuri whispered.

"Uh…" Gray mumbled, still staring into her breasts. "Um… yeah?" he said after a moment, in a raised voice.

Joe sounded like he was right in the entrance. "We've caught sight of what seems like a zombie sheep down in the clearings. Just letting you know that you shouldn't do anything… attention-attractive."

"Uh… got it," Gray replied. "Thanks for letting me – er, us – know.

"…no problem," Joe said. They heard the footsteps leaving the cave and soon it was silent again.

Popuri let out a quiet laugh, brushing her lovely pink hair out of her face. "That was a close one…"

"What, afraid to let people know you're in a relationship with me?" Gray asked with a smirk.

"Well… no," Popuri answered. "It's just that it would be kinda awkward to be caught like this… especially in the middle of a disaster.

Gray's grin faded slightly.

"Good point," he said.

Popuri looked down into his eyes.

"Now then… where were we?" she asked, hinting, with a seductive grin crossing her lips. She pulled herself in and pressed her lips against his once more. Then, they resumed where they had left off, kissing passionately while Gray began to fumble with the hooks on the back of her strapless bra.

-

Everything was still uneventful in the church – Parson Carter had handed out rations consisting of small blocks of cheese and cups of grapefruit juice to wash it down. Other than that they were still waiting.

Saibara wasn't looking too good. His skin had grown paler, and it looked as though the bandage was becoming heavily bloodstained, but he stubbornly refused any treatment.

"I'll be fine," he kept grunting. "Just a scratch. It's nothing."

But even he had doubt in his voice.

"Is any help coming?" Greg the fisherman asked. "Has it already come? Is it even coming at all…?"

"You're asking the wrong people," said Cliff dully.

Greg leaned back in the pews. "I guess…"

Carter returned to his alter. He placed his hands upon the podium and placed them together. Then, silently, he prayed.

-

Basil quietly entered the intersection. Everything seemed deserted, save for the littered carcasses scattered about. As he approached the entrance to the Green Ranch, he recognized the form of what used to be Stu. He gazed down at his carcass sadly.

"Poor kid," he muttered.

He continued into the Green Ranch. Everything was caked in moonlight now, just as it was everywhere else at the moment, giving it a rather eerie feeling. Basil couldn't help getting the feeling that someone… or something… was watching him.

He approached the grazing meadow. There, right outside the fence, he found three bodies that he didn't recognize. They seemed to make some kind of twisted zombie family – a mother, a father, and a little boy.

He didn't know how long he stood there staring at them, but it wasn't long before Basil noticed something odd about the father.

His skin was starting to turn red.

Basil blinked, straining his eyes in the moonlight.

"What the fuck?" he said, barely a whisper.

Wet, fleshy noises began to fill the air. The body seemed to be transforming, mutating – _something_ that it wasn't supposed to be doing, especially since it was a dead person. Basil backed away, frightened. He quickly cocked his shotgun.

Slowly, the body stood up.

Turned around.

And looked right at him.

Its eyes opened, and met Basil's, who froze, stuck in his tracks.

For a moment neither of them moved. Complete silence filled Basil's ears – it was almost like he was dreaming the whole thing, everything, and that at any moment he would wake up from his nightmare into the arms of his loving family.

Sadly, it was all very, very real.

The monster suddenly charged with a loud, bloodcurdling scream.

A gunshot rang through the night.

* * *

**Review Responses**

kittychobit – Uh… sure thing, hahaha.

Horseface – I doubt it – Ann lost a lot of strength through her injury.

von Rhettenstien – I did become aware of my mistake in HMRE 1 by making a headless zombie become a crimson head, which is something I will improve when I work on the Special Edition. As for the lack of zombie dogs, I guess I forgot about those. I might put them in later – or maybe that's another thing for the HMRE 1 Special Edition. As for the tyrant, I've never really been sure what its real color is, but I do know that the premature tyrant had been blue. Thanks for the insights.

Everybody Else (Amanda, koiree, barthos-5) – Thanks for the reviews and feedback, I really appreciate it!

**Author's Note:** I know I have a knack for saying this, but I'm requesting that anybody reading this who's curious as to why I lack updating sometimes to please check my profile. There's always an answer in there (right now it's due to other commitments, school-related and all that. Thankfully right now it's Spring Break).

Until next time,

SFR.


	16. Our Civic Duty

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Sixteen: Our Civic Duty

"Did anybody hear that?"

Jack, on the porch with Chief, scratched an itch on his forehead. Joe was still gazing through his binoculars.

"Hear what?" asked Chief.

"Listen," Jack said quietly. "It might happen again."

Everyone waited a few seconds.

"I don't hear anything," Chief mumbled impatiently.

"Just wait," Jack insisted.

Silence.

Then a second shot rang through the air.

Joe lowered his binoculars. His brow furrowed.

"I heard that," he said in a low voice, as to not attract any attention from the undead sheep wandering below. "There are more people out there."

Ben Ridley stood up straight, and walked over beside Joe.

"Somebody get Lieutenant Gomez, please," he requested politely.

A minute later Tito was by his side.

"What's going on?" he asked drowsily. He had been attempting a nap in the cabin's cellar.

"There was a gunshot not long ago," Joe reported. "Followed by a second one."

Ben nodded. "We have to go out there again. Somebody could be in trouble."

Tito looked at his as if he were joking. He tried to laugh. "You're… you're kidding. Right? You're fucking me."

Ben and Joe only stared at him sternly.

"You're fucking me!" Tito said, raising his voice upon realizing that it was no joke.

"Keep your voice down!" whispered Ben harshly.

"We can't go out there!" Tito continued, ignoring his Captain's order. "For all we know the whole town is spawned with those undead freaks! Whoever fired that weapon is dead now! Believe it!"

Ben stood up and stood in front of Tito, face to face.

"Second Lieutenant Titus Gomez," he growled. "You will follow my orders or you will face the consequences of doing otherwise! It is our duty as a Special Forces unit to help those in need! It is our duty as Coda Squad!"

Tito looked at the ground.

"You're right," he said in the lightest voice. "It was wrong of me to speak against you, sir. Please forgive me."

"Don't worry about it," Ben said, seeming to almost instantly cheer up. "You only had a moment of doubt. But we're past that. Joe, you hold position and continue watching the perimeter. Tito, you're with me, we're heading to the wishing pond to come up with a plan. Let's move quick! Whoever may be in trouble does not have a lot of time!"

As Ben dashed off, quicker than lightning, Tito muttered under his breath, "What the fuck does Coda mean, anyway?"

-

Inside the cabin, things had become passive. The game of poker that was to begin came to a drastic stop once Tito had entered with the news of a dead sheep down in the plains below. Needless to say, it spooked the carpenters.

They were sitting at the small table that had occupied the center of the room, but they had since moved it over to the side to open the trapdoor to the cellar beneath it. In little, less-than-comfortable wooden chairs, Danny, Ace, and Buzz attempted conversation.

"So… was there a girl back where you came from?" Ace asked, looking over at Danny.

"Of course there were girls," he muttered, wanting to change the subject.

"You know what I mean," Ace insisted.

Danny sighed.

"There was someone… she was something else. She was also a farmer… I was a farmer, if you didn't know… she worked at another ranch, not that far from mine. I thought she was beautiful. As time went by I realized that… well, I was falling in love with her."

There was a pause.

"What was her name?" Buzz asked.

"Celia," Danny answered, after a moment. "I knew I had to tell her how I felt, but I could never work up the nerve. Whenever I was around her I'd get so nervous half the time… and then… then the virus struck…"

He fell silent. Tears were visible in his eyes now.

"What happened?" inquired Ace sympathetically.

"She was killed," Danny said strainedly. "by her own employer… Vesta. She had turned into some sort of monster, and…"

He couldn't finish. Realizing he was crying, he wiped his eyes, looking embarrassed. Buzz patted him on the back.

"What about you guys?" Danny asked, coming back to his senses. "Was there ever anyone special?"

"Oh, no," Ace said almost casually, as a joke. "We're carpenters. We never fall in love. We're never that lucky."

Danny chuckled.

"Hey, that's life," Buzz said. "Spend all day choppin' wood, no time for the ladies these days. Nothin' like… you farmers."

Danny started to laugh.

"Hey, I'm serious. Here…"

He pulled open the table's single drawer, and pulled out three dusty little glasses. Wiping them off, he stepped to one of the cabinets and took out a bottle of wine. Uncorking it, he poured a little into each glass. Each of them took a glass, and as Buzz sat down he raised his own.

"To life," he said solemnly.

"To life," Ace and Danny repeated.

There was a small chink as they tipped their glasses together.

Maria, who had been listening to them from the cellar with Josh, came up and joined them.

"Mind if I have a little?" she asked.

"No problem," Buzz said with a smile. "Here, let me get you a cup…"

He rummaged the drawer for another glass.

"This one isn't as big, but…"

"It'll do," Maria said gratefully. Buzz filled the glass and gave it to her. She went back downstairs to her son.

The cellar was dark, but it was comfortable. There weren't any beds, but armchairs alongside the walls that were good enough. There were more cabinets down there as well, but they were mostly empty, and there was a dartboard against the wall missing all the darts.

"Mommy?" said Josh, who had been playing with a book to pass the time on his armchair. "Are you mad at Daddy?"

Maria knew this would be coming, but now that she knew the whole story, she also knew what to say.

"It wasn't your dad's fault," she said to him. "It's just one of the things that happens in life. Everything will be okay."

And she sipped her wine, as Josh went back to playing with his book.

-

"Cold as fuck out here."

Beside the wishing pond, Ben and Tito were crouched beside the foliage, their submachine guns at their sides. They were now wearing helmets, with lights inside them that guided their way.

"Pretty damn eerie, too," Tito added. "Look at that water in the moonlight…"

"Concentrate, Tito," Ben snapped. "Listen, we need to find another route into the village."

"Is there a way through these trees?" Tito asked.

"There should be," muttered Ben. "My memory's a bit snappy but there should be a house not far at the same elevation."

"Well, let's hurry," Tito shivered. "All this planning and the guy could be dead already."

"As you insist," Ben nodded. "Gear?"

"What?"

"Have you got your gear?"

Tito took his backpack from his shoulders. "Yeah, I've got everything."

"Well, just grab a weapon and some ammunition," Ben suggested, dropping his backpack. "We're going to have to hurry and they'll slow us down."

"Good thinking," muttered Tito, withdrawing several clips of submachine gun ammo and then zipping up his pack. Ben did the same.

"Ready?" he finally asked.

Tito nodded. "Roger."

They disappeared through the foliage into the night.

-

Elli couldn't stay still. She had been nervous ever since those shots broke the night silence. She wasn't sure if she should go outside or stay inside – after all, Basil had told her to stay put. But he might have been hurt… and she still didn't know where Jeff was, either.

She turned towards the counter. There were still some slices of cake and pie in there…

"Elli!" she scolded herself. "How can you think about eating at a time like this?"

She sat down beside the dining table.

"I need rest…" she thought. "But I can't sleep! How could I, knowing what could become of Jeff and Basil? I hope they're all right…"

Her own thoughts cascaded into dreams, and she fell asleep at the table.

-

One other person, with the same worries as Elli, went one step ahead and decided to do something about it.

Lillia was stumbling through the pathway into the intersection, not bothering to even try keeping her balance. After hearing the shots she had put on her coat and was out the door instantly.

"Basil?" she called out. "Where are you? What's going on?"

She looked over at the mess in the Flowerbud Ranch yard. Seeing her husband wasn't there, she began to look around frantically.

"Basil? Please!" she shouted. "Answer me!"

And then she heard something.

A faint, but distinct, voice.

"Lillia!"

She swinged around.

"Basil?"

"Lillia!"

It was coming from the Green Ranch.

"Basil, I'm coming!"

She took off down the path.

-

It was quiet around the vineyard. It looked rather ominous now, with the horrors that had taken place and the evidence of such horrors inside the house. A single light on the wall flickered.

Then, rustling.

Ben and Tito appeared at the far edge of the property, emerging from the trees that surrounded it. They stepped forward and observed it.

"Looks like a vineyard," Ben said in a low voice.

"Must be rich people," remarked Tito, glancing up at the house.

Just then, they could hear a voice.

A women shouting.

"No time to enjoy the sights," Ben whispered. "Let's go."

They sneaked off towards the path.

-

"Basil?"

"Lillia!"

As she approached the Green Ranch, Lillia could make out Basil's form. He was sitting against the shop…

"Basil!"

"Lillia…"

When she was close enough she could clearly see him.

Basil was in terrible shape. The first shot had missed the monster, and it had gotten ahold of him before he was able to fire again. The body was over beside the grazing field, distinctly missing a head. It had scratched him good in several places, but this isn't what Lillia noticed.

Basil was holding one hand over a bloody mass in his stomach.

"No…" Lillia cried.

Basil smiled weakly at her. "It got me good, hon."

"Basil… I… what happened?"

She was immediately at his side.

"One of the bodies got up," he said. "Turned all red or something… I thought I was imagining it, but it charged at me and took me by surprise… I let my guard down, Lillia. Look at me."

He was silent for a moment.

"I let you down, Lillia, I know I did."

"Don't you even think that for one second!" Lillia said. "You never let me down, Basil, never in your life!"

"I said our daughter was as good as dead, Lillia, I gave up faith on her," Basil muttered. "That's the worst thing a man can do."

"You knew she had to be alive!" Lillia said reassuringly. "You knew that and you went looking for her!"

Basil was starting to look weak.

"Basil, Popuri is okay, and you'll be okay, and this'll all blow over, and…" she began to cry at the sight of the injured Basil. "and you and I can settle down, and Popuri'll get married, and we'll have grandchildren, and…"

"Sweetheart…"

"…and we can move out to a place by the beach where they can visit us every summer, and…"

"Sweetheart, I think you're underestimating just how hurt I am," Basil said, laughing weakly. He coughed into his hand, and saw that there was blood.

Lillia held onto her husband.

"This isn't fair, Basil, it isn't."

Basil put his arm over her shoulder. They looked into each other's eyes.

"I really never let you down?"

"Not once," Lillia said.

Basil smiled. One look at her face could tell him that she meant that.

That's all he needed to know.

With one final breath, the last ounce of life Basil had left was gone. His arm fell limp from Lillia's shoulder.

Lillia sat there sobbing, her head on Basil's chest, cradling the lifeless form of what used to be her husband.

When two flashlight beams fell upon them, she didn't move from her spot.

"Get way from that body," Ben ordered.

Lillia looked up at them, her eyes pink and her face wet. Basil and Tito were standing before her, their machine guns held threateningly, ready to fire at a moment's notice. The beams, which came from the lights in their helmets, proved to be exceptionally bright.

"No," she whimpered.

"Step away from him," Ben said, more softly. "Please."

"You go to hell!" Lillia screamed. "I'm not leaving him! I'm won't!"

"Lady, in about a few seconds, you're gonna regret just sitting there," Tito snarled.

"Get away from me!" Lillia sobbed.

"Listen, that thing is gonna come back to –"

"HE'S NOT A THING!" shrieked Lillia. "HE'S MY HUSBAND! AND I'M NOT MOVING FROM THIS SPOT! I WON'T LEAVE HIM!"

At that moment, Basil's eyes opened.

"I'm not leaving him," Lillia repeated slowly, as if to make it final. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Then, with a roar, Basil jerked his head forward and bit into her neck.

Ben and Tito opened fire.

A series more of gunshots, added to the first two already fired, forever shattered the night and sealed the fears, or fates, of more than one person.


	17. Out of Time

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Seventeen: Out of Time

Doug sat in an armchair inside the cabin, having kept to himself this whole time while listening in on the conversations around him. However, he seemed a bit troubled now.

"We're wasting our time here."

Danny, Ace, and Buzz looked over at him.

"Pardon?" said Danny.

Doug turned to look at him. "I said, we're wasting our time here. We can't just sit here and do nothing while our entire home, our _life_, is destroyed. We have to do something."

It was a moment before anybody registered what he had just said.

"Do something?" Buzz repeated. "As in… go out there?"

"Are you deaf?" mocked Doug, standing. "Listen. I'm not going to spend any more time cramped up in here. I'm going into the village."

When he turned towards the door, it dawned on them all that he was very serious. Danny stood up immediately.

"You can't risk that," he protested.

"The hell I can't," Doug snorted. "I'll do whatever I please, thanks. You wouldn't understand, anyway. This isn't your village. Why would you care?"

Danny suddenly snapped at him in a voice nobody in the room had heard before.

"Hey, pal! My village was entirely destroyed by those fucking things! Don't tell me what I understand and what I don't understand!"

Doug stared back at him, startled. There was an awkward silence before Ace spoke up.

"Actually…" he said nervously, looking around. "That's not a bad idea. I can't stand sitting here with nothing to do."

"Those military guys told us to stay here, though," Buzz mumbled. "They're rounding up more people as we speak."

"As if everyone can fit in here," scoffed Doug. "Look. This is a nice place, but it's no homeless shelter. I'm taking my chances on the road."

He turned to Ace.

"You with me?"

Ace looked hesitant.

"Well… I dunno…"

Doug laughed coldly.

"Well, if you make up your mind, you can find me down there."

And with that he simply stepped out the door, letting it close by itself behind him.

-

Joe watched Doug as he stepped out from the front porch and began to stomp towards the log bridge.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked immediately.

Doug stopped and faced him.

"I'm going down there," he said simply.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Joe told him.

Doug laughed. "Try and stop me."

Joe withdrew his pistol and stepped in front of him.

"Sir," he said loudly. "I am in my right to stop you from leaving, I hope you know that."

Doug looked at him with intense disbelief.

"What are you gonna do, shoot me? You're supposed to be protecting me!"

"I am," said Joe. "If you go down there, you're dead meat for sure."

"So you're gonna shoot me to stop me from going down there?"

"If I have to," Joe replied. "I can't risk you getting yourself killed and becoming one of them."

Doug scoffed. "I don't think you have what it takes."

He took a step forward. Joe cocked his pistol.

"Sir," he said in a more harsh tone. "I don't want to do it, but I will!"

"Listen to the man!" Chief said from the porch, with Jack beside him. "This isn't worth anything!"

At that moment, Grey and Popuri emerged from the cave.

"What the…" Grey muttered, upon seeing them. "Dad, what are you doing?"

Joe turned his head to face them. "You two, stay out of this. This doesn't concern you."

As he spoke, Doug took advantage of the situation and tried to snatch Joe's gun.

"Hey!" Joe yelled.

"Dad!" screamed Grey.

Doug attempted to wrestle the gun out of Joe's hands, but to no avail.

"Let go!" Joe commanded. "Stop this! Think of your daughter!"

"Don't fucking drag her into this!" Doug shouted madly.

Jack and Chief quickly rushed to break up the fight. Grey frantically ran to join them.

He didn't make it in time, though.

Before he could reach them all, a gunshot rang out. Grey jumped back and fell backwards in shock. Popuri let out a scream and ran to his side.

"Grey! Are you okay?"

Grey checked himself. He was okay.

He looked up.

Jack and Chief had stepped away from Joe and Doug. Their hands were still on the gun. Doug was shaking all over. He was splattered with blood.

It wasn't his blood, however.

Sergeant Joe Avery stepped back, going into shock. He looked down at a small, bloody hole in his chest, and then stared up at Doug with disbelief in his eyes. Slowly, he fell backwards and over the side of the cliff, disappearing from view. A splash followed. The gun was in Doug's hands now.

"Dad…" Grey croaked.

Doug looked over at him.

"Take care of Ann for me," was all he said.

He glanced at Popuri, then back to his son.

"I love you," he added.

And then he was gone.

He rushed down the log bridge and out of sight.

-

The door burst open as soon as he was gone.

"What in the hell was that?!"

Danny rushed outside, with Buzz and Ace following him.

"Doug," Chief said. "He killed Sergeant Avery and ran off."

"What?!" Jack said.

"Now wait a minute!" protested Grey, stepping forward. "It wasn't on purpose!"

"The guy was trying to stop him from leaving," Chief said. "I mean, your father tried to take his gun, for God's sake! I saw him do it!"

"He just wanted to leave," Jack muttered.

"Jesus Christ," Buzz said, stepped away and grasping the back of his head with his hands.

"Well, what are we gonna do?" asked Grey. "There's nobody here to protect us now."

"I've got my shotgun inside," Chief said. "If anything comes around, I'll blast it."

"We should probably get rid of that bridge, too," Ace pointed out, motioning towards the log bridge.

"No…" Danny said. "No, those other two are still out there."

"Well, they'd better fucking hurry," Buzz whimpered.

Jack, who was scouring the surrounding landscape across from the river, appeared to be looking for something.

"Shit," he mumbled.

Everyone looked at him. "What?" inquired the Chief.

"Flossie's gone," Jack answered.

"Who?"

"My sheep," Jack explained. "My… well, dead sheep. We saw her about half an hour ago and now she's nowhere to be found."

"Maybe she went after Doug," Ace muttered.

"Don't fucking say that," stammered Grey.

"Admit it, dude, your dad went nuts."

Grey grabbed ahold of Ace and began uncontrollably yelling.

"Shut up! Just shut up, okay?!"

Amidst the shouting, Danny clearly said "Ssssssh! Ssssssh! Guys, listen!"

Everyone fell quiet.

From inside the cabin, there came barking.

-

"Mommy, why won't Kobi stop yelling?"

Inside the cellar, Maria had been quietly reading before she was interrupted by Kobi's snarling yips.

"I don't know!" she said hopelessly, trying to soothe the canine. "Kobi, shush! Be quiet!"

But Kobi continued barking. Rather notably loud.

The cellar door opened and Chief came running down the stairs.

"What the hell's going on in here?" he asked irritably.

"I don't know!" Maria replied. "We heard this noise, and now our dog won't stop barking!"

"Well, quiet her down! We can't afford to attract anything over here!"

"I'm trying the best I can," sighed Maria.

"Uhh, Chief?" came the voice of Ace. "You… might want to see this."

-

"God damn it, that dog just won't shut up!"

"Hey, cut him some slack," Jack said lowly to Buzz. "It's a dog. It can't think that well."

"Well, fuck, man! What's it doing with us then?"

As the barking finally faltered, Ace and Chief came out from the cabin.

"Look over there," he said, pointing to a spot near the entrance.

Chief strained his eyes.

"My God," he said softly.

Flossie, Jack's sheep, hadn't left at all.

It was down by the river, feasting on Joe's corpse on the banks.

However, it had obviously heard Kobi's yelping and began to walk back inland, into sight.

"Oh, fuck!" Buzz said, panicking. "We need to destroy this bridge, now!"

"We can't do that!" Chief yelled. "We need to wait for those two!"

"For all we know, they aren't coming back!" yelled Buzz, clearly losing all sense. "I'm fucking getting rid of it before that thing –"

Ace socked him in the stomach. He doubled over.

"You never know how much I want to do that sometimes," Ace muttered.

"It was necessary," Chief said. "Look, take him back inside and keep him there. And get my shotgun… we're probably gonna need it."

Ace obliged, using his arm to support Buzz as they went back inside.

"You four," Chief said, turning to Jack, Danny, Grey, and Popuri. "You should probably get back inside, too."

"Good idea," Popuri nodded.

"I've got no complaints," Grey simply said.

"I should stay outside with you," Jack said to Chief. "Y'know, just in case."

"Alright," Chief agreed reluctantly. "Get moving, you guys."

Ace came back outside as Grey and Popuri quickly rushed inside, tailed by Danny. In his hands were Chief's shotgun.

"Here you are, Chief," he said.

"Thanks, Ace," Chief muttered. "What's the condition on ammo?"

"There's just a few shells… not a lot more."

"Well, that'll be all we need," Chief responded. "Get back inside."

Ace complied wordlessly.

Flossie was at the base of the bridge now. It looked as if she were trying to get a good balance on it.

"It's coming this way," Jack observed.

Chief loaded both barrels of his shotgun.

"We'll just wait and see."

-

Cliff thought a lot about his life throughout the past few hours he had spent inside the church, locked up with only a few other people in a world that was so badly destroyed to him. So far as his knowledge went, everyone he knew outside was dead or one of the diseased beings that was ravaging their once-peaceful town.

In one hand, he believed this was God's response for all the bad things they have done. But what was really worth this sort of punishment? It simply wasn't reasonable.

In the other hand… it was simply circumstance. In Cliff's view, everyone was merely a victim of circumstance. Maybe it was God's doing, maybe it wasn't. But everybody needed somebody to blame for what happened at this point. If they didn't know who was responsible, they'd turn to God and ask him why he allowed it to happen.

As for Cliff, he didn't know what to truly think anymore. All he knew was that he was trapped in a desolate place in a desolate town, with no chances of survival.

He had spent so much time thinking, it took him a long time to notice that Saibara had stopped moving.

"Parson," he said quietly.

Carter looked up from the podium at him. He had been praying.

Cliff gestured with his head towards Saibara's lifeless form.

Carter nodded sadly.

He walked down the aisle and gently laid Saibara down on the bench he was sitting on, placing the old man's hands in his lap as if he were the subject of a funeral. Carter bowed his head in silence as a gesture of respect, and then returned up to the front of the church. Greg the fisherman stayed in his spot, on the bench in front of Cliff.

Cliff knew exactly what this meant.

He knew what was going to come in a matter of seconds.

As he closed his eyes and came to peace with himself, Saibara's eyes slowly opened back up.


	18. Rotten Luck

_**Harvest Moon: Resident Evil 2**_

Chapter Eighteen: Rotten Luck

"Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell was that bitch's problem?"

As Tito stood to the side panting, clearly disturbed from having to shoot a civilian (for the second time, which Ben was however unaware of), Ben held out his hand in front of his face and crouched, staring ahead down the path into the intersection.

"I thought I heard a gunshot," he muttered.

Tito, not paying attention to him, was looking around, trying not to catch even a glimpse of the two bullet-ridden corpses that sat against the shop wall. They had been searching the rest of the grounds at the ranch, making sure there weren't any other unpleasant surprises waiting for them there. As Ben tried to concentrate on the intersection, Tito walked over to the shop window and looked inside. Seeing the deformed body of Grant, a once well-off man from Forget Valley, something popped into his head.

"Hey…"

"Be quiet, Lieutenant."

"Ben…"

"What is it?"

Ben turned to face Tito, who was still gazing into the shop. At that moment, Doug appeared at the edge of the entrance to Moon Mountain with Joe's gun still in his hands.

Gasping heavily, Doug was definitely in some sort of a hurry. As soon as he entered the intersection, he immediately spotted Ben and Tito at his property, and they were most likely the last people he ever wanted to see. He bolted towards the nearest path, which happened to be the path to the vineyard. He raced up the twisting dirt road and out of sight.

"Did you notice how fucked up that one guy is?" said Tito in a low voice.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ben impatiently, stomping over to look into the shop with his partner. "Oh, yes. That bloated motherfucker. What of it?"

Ben was clearly as bothered by what they had just done as much as Tito was.

"How do you think that happened?"

Ben shrugged. "I have no clue. Maybe we should ask the bloody people who live there that, when we get back to the cabin. Right now."

Getting the hint, Tito turned around and looked at the intersection.

"After you, sir," he said, in spite of Ben's insistence.

Ben snorted bitterly and led the way.

-

Flossie the sheep was still wobbling at the base of the log. Chief watched her intently, his eyes locked upon the beast. Jack stood next to him, rather uncomfortably. He couldn't help feeling bad for the sheep. It was one of his animals, after all.

"If that motherfucker gets too close, I'm gonna shoot it right off," Chief said through gritted teeth.

"Relax," Jack mumbled. "She's having enough trouble. I doubt she could get far."

"Well, I'd best not let my guard down. Constant vigilance and whatnot."

He did his best to stifle a cough and drew in a sharp breath. When he exhaled, it could be seen on the air. Jack only now realized how cold this night was.

"Man," he said quietly, rubbing his shoulders. "What a cold night."

"Tell me about it," Chief grumbled, his eyes fixed on the undead sheep.

It still hadn't gotten very far.

-

Something stirred out in the woods near the cabin, but they didn't notice. A soft rustling could be heard, and if you listened closely you could almost hear the soft sound of shoeless feet against the ground in a strange, off-balance pattern.

Slowly, a head emerged between two trees that towered in a much greater height then the cabin. It was bloated and red, and the skin looked as though it had been rotting for weeks. If not for her shape her gender would have been incomprehensible to human eyes. Reddish hair was matted atop her bloodied head and fell down to her shoulders, with gore, leaves, and twigs alike scattered in the bushy, untamed knots.

Vesta stared ahead at the cabin wall with strangely yellow eyes, like a cat's. She had traveled a long way to get here.

Now, she was about to get her just reward.

-

"Fuckin' A, this is some weird shit."

Ace was sitting back at the small table again. Buzz, however, had other things on his mind.

"Join the club," he grunted. "Shit, man. Why'd you go and bean me like that?"

"You were being a douche," Ace muttered. "Don't puss out on me like that, okay?"

"Fuck you," said Buzz irritably.

Gray and Popuri were in the back corner of the room, sitting against the wall directly underneath the window. Popuri's head was on Gray's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked him softly, looking up at him.

Gray didn't turn his head.

"I'll be fine," he said silently. "Don't worry about me. Just worry about staying alive."

Popuri wasn't quite sure what Gray meant by those words, but she paid no mind to it at the moment. She only in snuggled closer to him, and he put his arm around her.

"I want this to be over," she said. "I don't want to be here anymore. I want to leave."

Grey closed his eyes and sighed.

"Me too."

And it was then that the radio, having been laid forgotten on top of the small square table, chose to roar out with a man's voice.

"_Coda Squad, come in. This is Ramirez. Over."_

All heads turned to stare at the machine. There was a pause.

"…should we pick it up?" asked Popuri.

"I'll take it," Danny grunted, and pressed the **SEND** button down. "Ramirez, this is Danny Torrance. Captain Ridley and Lieutenant Gomez are not here presently. Over."

A silence. _"What about Sergeant Avery? Over."_

Danny looked around the room. His finger let go of the **SEND** button and it popped back out with a click.

"Should we tell him?"

"No," Buzz said instantly. "No, we don't need any more trouble."

"But it wasn't our fault," Danny reminded him.

"Yes, but what good would it be telling him?" Buzz insisted. "You tell him that we got Avery killed, with the fact that those other two guys aren't even here, he might withhold telling us something that might be important."

Another silence followed this. Danny held his head in bemused thought.

The radio clicked again. _"Mr. Torrance, do you copy? Where is Sergeant Avery? Over."_

Danny spoke once more into the machine. "Sergeant Avery is outside on post. I'm afraid he can't come in to speak with you, but I'll gladly take whatever information you have and relay it to him later. Over."

"_Mr. Torrance, if I may point out, any information I give out is confidential."_

"But it concerns us, does it not?"

A pause.

"_Fair enough. Alright, you tell him what I am about to tell you as soon as this transmission is over. Over."_

"You got it, sir. What is it?"

A pause.

"You're not going to like this, Mr. Torrance. It appears that a number of the undead from Forget-me-not Valley have been heading towards your town."

Danny rubbed his forehead. "Jesus Christ."

"_It gets worse. These guys are different. They've been classified as Crimson Heads because of the color of their skin – they get mutated, or fucked up, or something just out of this world –"_

"We've already encountered things like that," Danny said bluntly.

Ace and Buzz gave him severely frightened looks.

"Some of us, at least," he added.

"_They're already there? Jesus. Well, that's not all. With enough given time, as it has happened in Forget Valley, weirder shit will start to happen. In Forget Valley monsters had started to pop out of the ground. There's no telling how many had appeared, but we only now managed to contain them._

"_We call them Hunters. We think they came from Umbrella Laboratories, but we don't know how many got away from us. If I had to guess, I'd assume that whatever Hunters are left out there are also on their way to Flowerbud."_

A pause.

"Oh my God," Danny said slowly. "Why us?"

"_Flowerbud is the closest village to Forget Valley, with the exception of the Downtown area, I suppose, but that's been totally ravaged –"_ Ramirez cleared this throat. _"In any case, it's bad, and that's not all: Our division chief has decided that he needs to go down there personally to clean things up –"_

Whatever was left of his speech was abruptly ended. From right outside on the porch there came the sound of a loud blast, the type that inferred that someone had just fired a shotgun round.

"_What the hell was that?"_ came Ramirez's voice.

In the basement, Kobi began to bark furiously again.

-

The porch light gave a menacing flicker, bathing it's surroundings in darkness and then dim light in some sort of bizarre pattern.

Chief stood squarely on the first step. One of his hands was clutching his shotgun, which quivered in his grip. The other was holding on to the bloody mass that was protruding from his stomach. In front of him was Vesta, with her arm torn completely through Chief's body.

Jack fell clumsily backwards from his chair in the shock of it all happening so fast. Stumbling, he struggled to stand up straight, grappling against the cabin wall and staring horrified as the scene unfolded before him.

Vesta uttered a low grunt, staring down at her victim as he violently shook. A chunk of her flesh was missing, roughly around her abdomen, taken from Chief's first shot. Blood spurted from his mouth and he gave a feeble attempt to pull the trigger once more, but Vesta knew better by now. She snatched the gun out of his hands with her free arm and tossed it away into the darkness.

The door was wrenched open, and Ace stomped out. He halted in his tracks.

"W-what the goddamn fucking hell?!" he stammered.

With one powerful swing of her arm, Vesta smashed his head into the doorway.

Jack climbed over the railing of the porch and fell a foot onto the grass below with a loud thud. Knowing that his time was limited, he jumped forward and made for Chief's shotgun, wherever it had been thrown.

Vesta craned her head; seeing his movements, and cleverly knowing what he was trying to do, she retracted her arm from Chief's body, picked him up, and threw him entirely at Jack. Their bodies collided, and Jack fell on his side, dazed.

Gray appeared in the doorway, wielding a wooden chair. He sent it smashing down Vesta's head, but it broke apart harmlessly against her. She turned, red eyes now glaring at Gray. He stepped backwards and tripped over Ace's limp body, falling into the cabin. Popuri was behind him, screaming.

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT IS THAT FUCKING THING?!"

"_Can somebody tell me what on Earth's going on?!"_ barked the radio. _"Avery! Are you there?"_

Outside, Jack lifted his head, blinking furiously. He saw Chief's shotgun, at least a few feet away in the brush. He began to crawl clumsily.

Danny stood, fearlessly glaring at Vesta in the doorway. A certain rage was in his eyes.

"Vesta," he said, moving not an inch. "You bitch."

Vesta's jaw unhinged and she let out an earsplitting roar.

There was a clatter; Buzz fell from where he had been sitting at the table. He had fainted.

Danny grabbed a broken, splintered chair leg from the floor. "C'mon," he said challengingly. Vesta took one step forward, and Danny swung at her head. It hit with a loud _klonk,_ but affected her in no way whatsoever. Gray followed Danny's example, grabbing another leg and attempting the same thing. Vesta slammed him against the wall; Gray's body cracked the window and it shattered.

Danny took this opportunity to lay another blow to Vesta's red head; she grunted, and reached for him.

A loud discharge sounded into the night sky; Vesta stumbled. She blinked. Stared ahead at the people before her. And then slowly turned around.

The back of her head was gone.

Her rotting brains were oozing out slowly. The back of her skull was completely shattered. The blood was dark, almost black, and horribly rank.

There was a popping sound, followed by a series of small clicks as an empty shell hit the floorboards. A second discharge. Vesta's head completely exploded. She stumbled, and her rounded body came to a crash on the floor.

Jack stood on the porch, steam rising from the barrels of Chief's shotgun. He lowered it slowly.

"You guys all right?" he asked.

The door to the cellar burst open. Maria s stood there, holding Josh in her arms.

"What the f…" she took a deep breath. "What happened?!" She looked down and saw Vesta's headless, mutated body. "Oh God…"

Danny put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. It's over."

Jack stepped away from the porch, went to Chief's body, and took the last shell he had been carrying. Opening the shotgun's barrel, he slid it in and snapped the gun back shut.

"Let's lock up," he said quietly. "They're going to be back soon."

Maria stood on the cellar stairs, looking affrightedly at her husband. "Jack?"

He glanced over at her. "Maria, I need to lie down."

Danny stepped away from her. His eyes widened. He stared forward, intensely. "Jack…"

Maria, confused, looked out past the porch, and she saw it too. Gray, with the help of Popuri, was getting back up from his place at the window, but he saw it as well.

"Jack…" Danny said.

A growl issued from behind the farmer. Jack turned around.

His sheep Flossie was there, looking madly up at him with red, bloodshot eyes. She began to growl fiercely, like a wild beast.

Jack raised the gun quicker than anyone could have imagined and blew Flossie to pieces. Her battered body slumped on the grass, where it would lay for quite some time. Jack turned back around, his farmer's outfit splattered with blood.

"Fuckin' thing," he mumbled.

And then he fell forward, and lost consciousness.

-

Ben and Tito arrived as soon as Jack had fainted.

"Holy shit," Tito said breathlessly.

Gray and Danny were dragging him back into the cabin.

"Little help here, fellas?" Gray grunted irately.

While Jack was situated down to the cellar, Ben and Tito helped move Ace and Buzz over beside the table. Then, the four of them managed to throw Vesta's body out the door, which they then shut and locked. Ben wiped his hands, coughed, and turned to look at everyone.

"This isn't everybody we left behind," he observed, immediately. "What's happened? Where's Sergeant Avery?"

Awkward glances were exchanged all around, from Danny to Gray to Popuri.

"He's dead." Danny was the one to say it.

Ben fell silent. Tito, however, spoke up.

"Well, what the fuck happened? Did one of those things get him?"

Gray said, "My dad killed him."

A long pause followed this.

"What?" Tito said disbelievingly.

"It was an accident," said Gray quickly, but Tito wasn't one to be calmed by this.

"Bullshit," he said. "That motherfuckin' prick. Where is he?"

"He ran away," Danny said.

"Well, fuck me! Where did he go?"

"We have no clue," Gray said. "What does it matter?"

"What does it matter?! I'm gonna blow his fuckin' brains out! Why'd he do it?!"

"Don't talk that way about my dad!" Gray yelled. "He didn't do it on purpose!"

"Fuck you, pal! Joe Avery was a damn fine man and a finer solider! Now you tell me why your pops killed him!"

"Gentlemen!" snapped Ben loudly.

Tito fell silent.

"If this young man says it was an accident, then it was an accident," Ben said. "A terrible accident, but an accident nonetheless. Now, tell us what happened."

But then the radio squawked back to life.

"_Hello? Hello? I hear voices. Is anyone there? Avery?"_

Glancing curiously at the villagers, Ben walked over to the radio and pushed the **SEND** button.

"Captain Ridley here, Lieutenant. Over."

Ramirez sounded relieved. _"Captain! Oh, thank the Lord. Have I got some news for you. General Bailey is on his way to Flowerbud."_

Ben's brow furrowed. "Bailey? In person?"

"_I believe so. He said he's left with no other choice. But that's not all, sir, you've gotta listen to these reports I've been getting…"_

But Ben Ridley stood up, wiped his forehead, and covered his eyes. "This isn't good."

-

At the isolated Vineyard, Doug leaned against the wall of the Wine Cellar, clutching Joe's pistol in one hand. He was still breathing like a tired dog. He had narrowly avoided running into those military men, who wouldn't have reacted favorably to his appearance.

He ran his fingers through his hair, thinking about what to do next, when a distant rumbling caught his attention.

He looked up at the sky. Any trace of a cloud had been long gone. The stars were all out now, glinting and winking down at him. The rumbling in the distance grew to be louder, and Doug almost gave out a laugh.

It was the rumble of a helicopter.

Rescue was on the way.

He stood up and watched as, from the distance, a single black chopper appeared. It was heading in his direction, it seemed. Doug began to wave his arms frantically, forgetting that he was holding a pistol. His feet soon left the ground, and Doug jumped, like a child trying to reach for a cone of ice cream.

The helicopter approached the Vineyard's fields and, softly, it took a safe landing in the far end of the territory. Doug almost couldn't believe his luck. The first survivor a rescue chopper could find. He knew his intentions were true.

The side door slid open and a dark-booted foot stepped one, followed by another. A rather important-looking man had emerged, with wavy black hair and thin, wiry square-rimmed glasses worn in front of eyes as dark as his hair. Everything he wore was some shade of either green or black; dark green suit, light green shirt, green tie, green pants. On his suit several medals and a nametag were pinned. A second man followed him, in more of a soldier's attire; his standard army-issued coat was also a dark green.

Doug approached them with a hopeful air about them. He held his gun-wielding hand before him to shield his eyes from the wind; the helicopter's blades were still spinning. "Are you guys the army?"

The authority figure stood eyeing him curiously.

"That's right," he said casually. "I'm here to inspect the damage."

"But you're, uh, you're carting the survivors outta here, right?" he said. "There's a whole lot more all around here; my son's with a group of people in a cabin up in the mountains…"

The man approached him, the soldier tailing him faithfully. He now looked at the gun Doug was carrying that.

"Why do you have one of those?" he asked Doug.

Doug almost snorted. "You're kidding, right? There are dead people everywhere."

With incredible speed, the authority figure snatched the gun from Doug's grip. Doug took a step back, and then laughed politely. "Some speed, sir."

"Mmm," the man inspected the gun, turning it about in his hands. He did this for quite some time. Doug, while trying to maintain his chances of escaping, was starting to lose his patience. This man was rather strange indeed.

"Sir," he spoke, "If you don't mind my asking, when do we start shipping people out?"

The authority figure's hands lowered to his sides. He gave Doug a small smile.

"We don't," he said simply.

And then he raised the pistol and shot Doug square in the forehead.

He was dead before he even hit the ground.

Polishing the gun with his suit, the man holstered the weapon. The soldier, looking down at Doug's corpse, said: "When should we start purging the town, General Bailey?"

"Oh, in a minute," Bailey said calmly, brushing his hair back. "This man said something about a cabin. We should inspect it first."

"Aye, sir."


End file.
